[Hemofiltration during severe sepsis or multiorgan failure syndrome]

Continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) has been used in intensive care units particularly in patients with sepsis or multiorgan failure. In comparison to intermittent haemodialysis, hemofiltration techniques offers an improved hemodynamic tolerance, related to the absence of osmotic pressure gradient. Indeed, hemofiltration is based on the physical principle of convection to remove substances from the plasma. The removal of substances that are released during sepsis, acute respiratory distress syndrome or multiorgan failure may be of particular interest. Several human studies have demonstrated that hemofiltration removes various inflammatory mediators, but the clinical significance of this removal remains questionable. If this removal occurs predominantly by convection, interest in hemofiltration will focus on high volume hemofiltration in order to obtain maximal ultrafiltrate flows. Patients with sepsis or multiorgan failure require close monitoring of most vital functions. The use of a CRRT technique emphasizes the importance of this monitoring and adds new monitoring issues relative to fluid balance, anticoagulation, hypothermia or drug removal.