Heparin-Free Chronic HemoDialysis Assessment

Intermittent hemodialysis is a complex technique which requires careful monitoring of anticoagulation levels to prevent clotting and reduce the risk of bleeding complications. Dialysis patients often exhibit hypercoagulable tendencies due to uremic state, turbulent blood flows in dialysis procedures, and thrombogenic exposure to artificial surfaces of dialysis tubing. Patients with ESRD may experience both dialyzer clotting and excessive bleeding, so individualized heparin dosing and periodic adjustments are necessary to ensure adequate anticoagulation during hemodialysis. The ideal anticoagulant should prevent thrombosis while minimizing the risk of intra- and interdialytic bleeding. The use of heparin carries risks such as worsening of osteoporosis and dyslipidemia, allergic reactions like pruritus, and the potential for life-threatening heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) for which avoidance of heparin is necessary during dialysis.Heparin, in both its unfractionated heparin (UFH) and low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) forms, is the most commonly used anticoagulant, though evidence comparing their efficacy and risk of bleeding remains inconclusive. End-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients, who are already at higher risk of serious bleeding, may benefit from regional anticoagulation (RA) techniques, as they typically receive around 600,000 IU of heparin per year. The investigators performed routinely a simplified regional anticoagulation procedure (RAP) using a constant calcium re-injection rate over the time to avoid hypocalcemia. This procedure eliminates the need for citrate infusion and calcium monitoring, and reduces nurse workload in a chronic dialysis unit. The investigators compared 21 chronic dialysis patients with 198 RA and 195 heparin sessions, where each patient acted as their own control. None of them were on VKA during the RA sessions, 62% were on single anti-platelet therapy and 14% were on dual anti-platelet therapy. The dialysis session success rate was 94% in the RA group and 97% in the heparin group, with no significant differences (p=0.22). The circuit loss rate was 1.5% per RA session and 0.5% per heparin session (p=0.23), and the early blood restitution rate was 3% and 1.5% (p=0.50) in the RA and heparin groups, respectively

Hypothesis: RAP can be as effective as systemic anticoagulation with heparin for intermittent dialysis in chronic hemodialysis patients, with the potential to reduce the rate of hemorrhagic events