Continuous renal replacement therapy is a blood purification technology. During blood purification, blood is removed from the patient, pumped through a dialysis filter and returned to the patient following removal of pathogenic substances. It is a therapy provided continuous blood purification 24 hour per day to replace the physiological functions of the damaged kidney. It can be performed at the bedside and has less effect to the circulation system. It mainly includes hemodialysis, hemofiltration, hemodialysis filtration, hemoperfusion, plasmapheresis, immune adsorption, etc.

Blood purification therapy is not only being applied to patients with acute/ chronic renal failure, but also be widely applied to rescue treatment of the critically ill patients. CRRT technology can remove excess fluid retained in the body, eliminate metabolic wastes and poisonous substance, adjusted disturbances of water and electrolyte balance, in order to ensure there is continuous nutrition support, promote recovery of kidney function, remove cytokines and other inflammatory mediators. CRRT is effective and able to increase rescue success rate.

Indications for CRRT are:

Nephropathy

Severe hyperkalemia, water intoxication (heart failure due to excessive volume load, severe hypertension or pneumonedema), severe metabolic acidosis, uremia, acute kidney injury.

Other diseases

Acute pulmonary edema, chronic cardiac failure, severe fluid overloaded, severe fluid-electrolyte imbalance, drug poisoning, other poison toxicosis, severe lactic acidosis, rhabdomyolysis, hepatic encephalopathy, myasthenia gravis, acute hemolysis, severe acute pancreatitis, acute respiratory distress syndrome, multiple organ failure, septic shock.