Filling a Dialysis Circuit with Albumin Does Not Prevent Platelet Activation During Hemodialysis: In Vivo Study

Abstract

The aim of our prospective clinical study was to evaluate whether filling a dialysis circuit with albumin before hemodialysis (HD) can prevent platelet activation during the procedure. Eight patients with chronic HD participated in the study, each dialyzed first with albumin and a week later without it. All other parameters of the HD procedure were unchanged (cellulose acetate hollow fiber dialyzer, blood flow of 300 ml/min, and low dose heparin). Before HD with albumin, 6.7% human albumin in saline was recirculated in the dialysis circuit for 10 min at a flow rate of 100 ml/min, and infused into the patient. We found a significant increase in the beta-thromboglobulin levels during both procedures. We found no difference in plasma coagulation system activation measured by fibrinopeptide A concentration. Neither was there any difference in the macroscopic antithrombotic activity assessed at the end of HD by measuring the volume of clots in the arterial and venous bubble trap and by counting the number of clotted fibers in the dialyzer. It seemed that filling the dialysis circuit, which had a cellulose acetate dialyzer, with human albumin did not improve its thrombogenicity.