Hemofiltration in cardiac patients how to choose the parameters

Continuous veno-venous hemofiltration (CVVH) is a method of renal replacement therapy suitable for patients with cardiogenic shock and renal failure. Water and solute are removed from the blood by convection without causing hypotension. The tuning of hemofiltration parameters is mainly based on empirical rules of thumb and is aimed at efficient fluid and solute removal while keeping hemodynamic stability and preventing hemofilter clotting from exaggerated hemoconcentration at the hemofilter level. We have built an educational computer program that simulates the hemofiltration process and calculates the desirable relations between blood flow through the hemofilter, the infusion rate and net negative fluid balance. This program also tries to predict the rate of area and creatinine removal by the device according to the chosen parameters.