New Biocompatible Haemodiafiltration Membrane to Enable Maximum Substitution for Sensitive Patients

In many European countries, high-volume online haemodiafiltration (OL-HDF) is becoming the method of choice for treating patients with chronic kidney disease. The high convective (Qs >20 L/session) and diffusive properties of this treatment have been shown to be beneficial for patient survival. For optimum outcomes, the dialyser membrane must be able to cope with high transmembrane pressures. For this reason, the most widely-used membranes for this technique are synthetic and asymmetric in structure, making it easier for the membrane to divert the pressure away from its surface. However, patients allergic or sensitive to synthetic molecules, cannot access these high convective volumes (CV) reached in high-volume HDF, because alternative semi-natural membranes for allergic patients, such as cellulose acetate-based membranes, do not have adequate pressure-handling properties for high-volume HDF. At this symposium, a new type of cellulose triacetate (CTA)-based membrane that is biocompatible, able to perform high-volume OL-HDF, and suitable for sensitive patients was introduced.