Effect of controlled extracorporeal blood cooling on ultrafiltration-induced blood volume changes during hemodialysis

Considerable amounts of heat may be lost or gained through the extracorporeal circuit during hemodialysis and influence the hemodynamic stability of the dialysis patient. The effects of two levels of extracorporeal heat flux (Jtherm in W) on blood pressures and ultrafiltration-induced blood volume changes were studied in eight patients on conventional hemodialysis. Treatments were controlled automatically for mild to medium Jtherm of either -13.4 +/- 3.3 W (group A) or -30.2 +/- 3.7 W (group B) (1 W = 1 J/s = 3.6 kJ/h = 0.239 cal/s = 0.86 kcal/h) and repeated once. Values are given as mean +/- SD. With low blood flows (Qb = 251 +/- 21 ml/min), dialysate temperatures were automatically set at 37.3 +/- 0.3 degrees C (group A) and 35.3 +/- 0.2 degrees C (group B) for the two levels of Jtherm, respectively. Arterial blood temperatures increased by 0.4 +/- 0.4 degree C with mild extracorporeal cooling (group A), whereas arterial blood temperatures slightly decreased by -0.1 +/- 0.4 degree C in the group with medium negative heat flux (group B) (P < 0.01). Blood pressures tended to drop in the warm dialysate group and to remain unchanged in the cool dialysate group (P = NS). Relative blood volume changes calculated from on-line ultrasonic blood measurements were significantly larger with cool (-12.8 +/- 8.3 vol%) than with warm (-7.2 +/- 5.5 vol%, P < 0.05) dialysate, indicating reduced fluid removal from peripheral body compartments during cool hemodialysis ultrafiltration. Despite the larger reduction in intravascular volume, intradialytic hemodynamic stability was maintained with extracorporeal cooling and cool dialysate prescription.