Abstract
In a prospective double-blind study, 12 patients were dialyzed four times each with nasal oxygen (O2) and 4 times each with air throughout acetate dialysis. Fewer symptoms (p < 0.01), improved postdialysis task performance (p < 0.04) and a tendency for less mean blood pressure drop (p < 0.07 two-sided) were noted on O2 dialyses than on air dialyses. The rate of acetate metabolism was increased during O2 dialyses since serum acetate levels were significantly lower at 2, 3 and 4 h. Significant hypoxemia was demonstrated in 10 of these patients on acetate dialysis without O2. These results clearly demonstrate that: (1) prevention of hypoxemia during dialysis reduces acetate intolerance, and (2) compromised tissue O2 availability may be partly responsible for dialysis morbidity.