Fluid and Electrolyte Transport across the Peritoneal Membrane during CAPD According to the Three-pore Model

In the present review, we summarize the principles governing the transport of fluid and electrolytes across the peritoneum during continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) in “average” patients and during ultrafiltration failure (UFF), according to the three-pore model of peritoneal transport. The UF volume curves as a function of dwell time [V( t)] are determined in their early phase by the glucose osmotic conductance [product of the UF coefficient (LpS) and the glucose reflection coefficient (σg)] of the peritoneum; in their middle portion by intraperitoneal volume and glucose diffusivity; and in their late portion by the LpS, Starling forces, and lymph flow. The most common cause of UFF is increased transport of small solutes (glucose) across the peritoneum, whereas the LpS is only moderately affected. Concerning peritoneal ion transport, ions that are already more or less fully equilibrated across the membrane at the start of the dwell, such as Na+(Cl–), Ca2+, and Mg2+, have a convection-dominated transport. The removal of these ions is proportional to UF volume (approximately 10 mmol/L Na+and 0.12 mmol/L Ca2+removed per deciliter UF in 4 hours).

The present article examines the impact on fluid and solute transport of varying concentrations of Ca2+and Na+in peritoneal dialysis solutions. Particularly, the effect of “ultralow” sodium solutions on transport and UF is simulated and discussed. Ions with high initial concentration gradients across the peritoneum, such as K+, phosphate, and bicarbonate, display a diffusion-dominated transport. The transport of these ions can be adequately described by non-electrolyte equations. However, for ions that are in (or near) their diffusion equilibrium over the peritoneum (Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+), more complex ion transport equations need to be used. Due to the complexity of these equations, however, non-electrolyte transport formalism is commonly employed, which leads to a marked underestimation of mass transfer area coefficients (PS). This can be avoided by determining the PS when transperitoneal ion concentration gradients are steep.

Acid-Base Balance with Different Capd Solutions

Our objective is to investigate transperitoneal buffer fluxes with solution containing lactate and bicarbonate, and to compare the final effect on body base balance of the two solutions.

One hundred and four exchanges, using different dwell times, were performed in 52 stable continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients. Dialysate effluent lactate and bicarbonate and volumes were measured. Net dialytic base gain was calculated. Patients’ acid-base status and plasma lactate were determined.

In lactate-buffered CAPD solution, lactate concentration in dialysate effluent inversely correlated with length of dwell time, but did not correlate with plasma lactate concentration and net ultrafiltration. Bicarbonate concentration in dialysate effluent correlated with plasma bicarbonate and dwell time but not with ultrafiltration.

The arithmetic sum of the lactate gain and bicarbonate loss yielded the net dialytic base gain. Ultrafiltration was the most important factor affecting net dialytic base gain.

A previous study demonstrated that in patients using a bicarbonate-buffered solution the net bicarbonate gain is a function of dwell time, ultrafiltration, and plasma bicarbonate.

By combining the predicted data of the dialytic base gain with the calculated metabolic acid production, an approximate body base balance could be obtained with both lactate and bicarbonate-buffered CAPD solutions.

The body base balance in CAPD patients is self-regulated by the feedback between plasma bicarbonate concentration and dialytic base gain. The level of plasma bicarbonate is determined by the dialytic base gain and the metabolic acid production. This can explain the large interpatient variability in acid-base correction. Bicarbonate-buffered CAPD solution is equal to lactate solution in correcting acid-base disorders of CAPD patients.

Clinical Evaluation of a Peritoneal Dialysis Solution with 33 mmol/L Bicarbonate

Objective

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a new peritoneal dialysis solution with 33 mmol/L bicarbonate.

Design

In an acute, prospective, randomized crossover study, 8 patients were randomized in two groups of 4. On the first study day, the first group performed two consecutive 4-hour exchanges with a dialysis solution containing 35 mmol/L lactate: the first exchange with 13.6 g/L and the second with 38.6 g/L dextrose. On the second study day, the same type of exchanges were performed with bicarbonate. The second group underwent the same treatment, but used bicarbonate solutions on the first day and control solutions on the second study day. Thirty-three patients participated in a 2-month prospective and randomized study. After a 4-week baseline period using solutions containing 40 mmol/L lactate, the patients were dialyzed with either 33 mmol/L bicarbonate solutions or 40 mmol/L lactate solutions.

Setting

Peritoneal dialysis units at the University Hospital of Brescia and the Niguarda Hospital of Milan, Italy.

Results

Acute study: Control and bicarbonate solutions had similar effects on blood chemistries and peritoneal transport. Chronic study: Mean venous bicarbonate concentrations remained unchanged in the control group (26.6 -27.2 mmol/L), but decreased significantly in the bicarbonate group from 28.8 mmol/L at the start of the study to 23.0 mmol/L after 2 months of bicarbonate administration. Other biochemical parameters remained unchanged.

Conclusion

A peritoneal dialysis solution with a bicarbonate level of 33 mmol/L does not adequately correct uremic acidosis.

Acid-base balance in peritoneal dialysis patients: a Stewart-Fencl analysis

BACKGROUND

Evaluation of acid-base disorders using the Stewart-Fencl principle is based on assessment of independent factors: strong ion difference (SID) and the total concentration of non-volatile weak acids (Atot). This approach allows for a more detailed evaluation of the cause of acid-base imbalance than the conventional bicarbonate-centered approach based on the Henderson-Hasselbalch principle, which is a necessary yet insufficient condition to describe the state of the system. The aim of our study was to assess acid-base disorders in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients using both of these principles.

METHODS

A total of 17 patients with chronic renal failure (10 men), aged 60.7 (22-84) years, treated by PD for 25.7 (1-147) months were examined. A control group included 17 healthy volunteers (HV) (8 males), with a mean age of 42.7 (22-77) years and normal renal function. Patients were treated with a solution containing bicarbonate (25 mmol/L) and lactate (15 mmol/L) as buffers; eleven of them used, during the nighttime dwell, a solution with icodextrin buffered by lactate at a concentration of 40 mmol/L. The following equations were employed for calculations of acid-base parameters according to the Stewart-Fencl principle. The first is SID = [Na+] + [K+] + 2[Ca(2+)] + 2[Mg(2+)] - [Cl-] - [UA-], where SID is the strong ion difference and [UA-] is the concentration of undetermined anions. For practical calculation of SID, the second equation, SID = [HCO3-] + [Alb-] + [Pi-], was used, where [Alb-] and [Pi-] are the charges carried by albumin and phosphates. The third is Atot, the total concentration of weak non-volatile acids, albumin [Alb] and phosphates [Pi].

RESULTS

The capillary blood pH in PD group was 7.41 (7.27-7.48), [HCO3-] levels 23.7 (17.6-29.5) mmol/L, SID 36.3 (29.5-41.3) mmol/L, sodium-chloride difference 39.0 (31.0-44.0) mmol/L, [Pi] 1.60 (0.83-2.54) mmol/L, and [Alb] 39.7 (28.8-43.4) g/L (median, min-max). Bicarbonate in blood correlated positively with SID (Rho = 0.823; p < 0.001), with the sodium-chloride difference (Rho = 0.649; p < 0.01) and pH (Rho = 0.754; p < 0.001), and negatively with residual renal function (Rho = -0.517; p < 0.05). Moreover, the sodium-chloride difference was also found to correlate with SID (Rho = 0.653; p < 0.01). While the groups of PD and HV patients did not differ in median bicarbonate levels, significantly lower median value of SID were observed in PD patients, 36.3 vs. 39.3 mmol/L (p < 0.01); additionally, PD patients were shown to have significantly lower mean value of serum sodium levels, 138 vs. 141 mmol/L (p < 0.01), and serum chlorides levels, 100 vs. 104 mmol/L (p < 0.001). Despite the higher [UA-] levels in PD patients, 9.1 vs. 5.4 mmol/L (p < 0.001), this parameter was not found to correlate with bicarbonate levels.

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest that the decreased bicarbonate in PD patients results from a combination of decreased sodium-chloride difference and mildly increased unmeasured anions.

Acid-base profile in patients on PD

Acid-base profile in patients on PD. Secular trends in dialysis dose in peritoneal dialysis (PD) and modes of dialysis delivery [automated PD (APD) versus continuous ambulatory PD (CAPD)] require a reexamination of acid-base status in patients treated with these renal replacement modalities. We explored steady-state acid-base profile and its determinants in 175 patients on CAPD and 77 patients on APD. The majority (62% to 70%) of patients had serum bicarbonate levels in the normal range, and a minority (17% to 27%) had values just above 28 mEq/L. Only a small percentage (10% to 12%) of patients in either the CAPD or the APD groups had a serum HCO3 less than 22 mEq/L, an indication of the successful correction of acidosis in most patients. The anion gap was elevated (> 16 mEq/L) in the majority of patients on CAPD and APD and bore an inverse relationship to serum HCO3 and a direct relationship to serum albumin and serum phosphate. In CAPD patients, but not APD patients, a significant inverse relationship was observed between the anion gap and peritoneal permeability as assessed by four-hour D/P(creatinine). The correction of acidosis in PD appears to be predominantly achieved by the continuous supplementation of alkali via dialysis, with residual renal function not differentiating the degree of correction. Steady-state serum bicarbonate in patients on CAPD appeared to be responsive to the underlying peritoneal membrane permeability characteristics of the patient that govern alkali loss and gain, but the higher dialysate volumes in APD appear to override this effect. Higher albumin, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and phosphate in patients with lower HCO3 suggest a discrepancy between daily acid load and dialysis dose.

Buffer transport in peritoneal dialysis

Buffer transport in peritoneal dialysis. The success of peritoneal dialysis as a robust modality of renal replacement therapy has invited a quest for ameliorations in its underlying technology aimed at enhancing patient satisfaction and preserving the central instrument of the therapy, namely the peritoneal membrane. The health and longevity of the membrane have motivated and continue to drive a series of iterative innovations in the composition, methods of production, and delivery of dialysis solutions. It is the purpose of this article to review aspects of these innovations pertaining to buffer composition in dialysis solutions and the peritoneal mechanisms of buffer transport.

Effects of bicarbonate buffered dialysate on human peritoneal mesothelial cell intracellular calcium homeostasis

This study compares the biocompatibility of two bicarbonate-based peritoneal dialysis (PD) solutions using the measurement of intracellular free calcium (Ca(i)2+)) as a sensitive parameter of cell function in human peritoneal mesothelial cells (hPMC). Fura-2-loaded hPMC suspensions were exposed to bicarbonate (38 mmol/L) and bicarbonate (25 mmol/L), lactate-buffered PD (15 mmol/L) solutions at pH 7.4 and compared with Krebs-Ringer physiological saline (KRS; pH = 7.4). Resting Ca(i)2+ values and 4br-A23187 (1.0 micro mol/L) induced transients were compared in treatment and control groups. In separate studies, the effect that low saline pH had on Ca(i)(2+) homeostasis was examined. Suspended cells or cells attached to coverslips were bathed in citric acid-phosphate (McIllvaine's) buffered saline (MBS, pH = 7.4). Cells were acidified (pH = 5.3) with citric acid and then challenged with ionophore. Ionophore challenge produced a significantly reduced Ca(i)2+ transient response in cells exposed to the bicarbonate/lactate fluid compared with bicarbonate or KRS. Acidified cell suspensions produced a small monophasic Ca(i)2+ transient rise that was short lived. Gradual recovery of MBS to pH 7.4 produced no changes to Ca(i)2+ homeostasis of cell monolayers. Ionophore treatment produced a biphasic response identical to cells bathed in KRS. This study has demonstrated that short-term exposure to bicarbonate did not alter Ca(i)2+ homeostasis directly, or subsequent modulation of intracellular pH. The MBS system provided a reliable method of modifying the external pH during continuous Ca(i)2+ measurement.