Abstract
Uremic toxicity is widely thought to be caused by the retention of a large spectrum of solutes, ranging from small to large molecular weight. Hemodialysis (HD), although achieving a high clearance of small molecules, does not permit a satisfactory removal of middle and large molecules. Conventional hemofiltration (CHF) improves the removal of middle and large molecules, but removes less small molecules compared to HD. A really satisfactory removal of small, middle and larger solutes can only be achieved by high-efficiency hemofiltration (HEHF), surpassing the performances of both HD and CHF. On this basis the authors formulate a new rational prescription about hemofiltration dose. The artificial GFR given to each patient must be comparable to that of a symptom-free patient with a residual GFR of 8-10 ml/min.