Effects of Hemofane and Polysulfone Membranes on Hypoxemia of Hemodialysis Patients

Hypoxemia is one of the most important complications of hemodialysis among patients with renal failure which is related with several factors such as type of dialysis membranes. The aime of this study is to investigate the hypoxemic conditions of hemodialysis patients in terms of different dialysis membranes. In this cross-over clinical trial, 29 hemodialysis patients were studied in Fatemieh Hospital in Semnan city in 2004. The arterial O2 Saturations of patients undergoing hemodialysis with polysulfone (a synthetic filter) and hemofane (a cellulose filter) were measured before and stepwisely durinng the process of dialysis and their decreasing trend were compared together. The deacreases in means of arterial O2 Saturations in respectively 5, 30, 60 and 120 minutes after initiation of dialysis was more in hemofane membrane group than polyfone membrane one (P<0.001). In both groups the maximun reduction rate was in 30th and 60th minutes of dialysis period. Applying polysulfone membranes would result in lesser decreases in O2 Saturation percent of hemodialysis patients. Therefore, to reduce the risk of hypoxemia particularely among high-risk patients, it is recommended to use this type of membrane for dialysis.