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Continuous renal replacement therapies (CRRT) are widely used in the treatment of acute kidney injury. Several causes, related to the treatment itself or to the patient's condition, determine the coagulation of the extracorporeal circuit. These interruptions (or down-time) have a negative impact on the effectiveness of the treatment in terms of solute clearance and fluid balance. Historically, the choice of anticoagulant has fallen on unfractionated heparin because it is cheap and easy to use. Today, the use of citrate is recommended in most instances because of its high efficacy and safety. Several studies demonstrate the superiority of citrate in terms of filter survival. The reduction of down-time results in a reduction of the delta between the prescribed dialysis dose and the dose that is actually administered (ml/Kg/hour of collected effluent). The literature also agrees that there is a reduction in the incidence of major bleeding events when citrate is used instead of heparin, although there is no impact on mortality rates. Some technical and clinical complexities, secondary to citrate action both as anticoagulant and buffer, still exist in the use of regional citrate anticoagulation. However, complications due to citrate use, such as acid-base balance disorders and hypocalcaemia, are rare and easily reversible. There is not much data about the costs and benefits of using citrate instead of heparin; according to the experience within our own Unit, we have observed a reduction in costs when the data is normalized for 35 ml of effluent administered. Appropriate protocols, accurate surveillance and the automated management of regional citrate anticoagulation thanks to dedicated software make this technique safe and effective., (Copyright by Società Italiana di Nefrologia SIN, Rome, Italy.)

Hemodialysis patients often present multiple comorbidities and have a high mortality rate (15-20% per year), mostly due to cardiovascular events. Besides predisposing pathological conditions related to uremia (heart failure, coronary heart disease, left ventricular hypertrophy, arrhythmias), they also have specific risk factors linked to the hemodialysis (HD) treatment in itself: chronic inflammation, fluid overload, autonomic nervous system dysfunction, arterovenous fistula. These factors may affect the hemodynamic compensatory systems (vascular refilling, arteriolar and venous tone, autonomic nervous system response) to fluid removal, with high risk of intra-dialysis hypotension (IDH) episodes or arrhythmic events. IDH is recognized as associated to a negative long term outcome, due to the repeated episodes of organ hypoperfusion with ischemic damage to heart, brain and gut. Over the years, dialysis technology has greatly improved, with the development of continuous and noninvasive monitoring systems, able to control some hemodynamic parameters affecting blood pressure (mainly blood volume and body temperature), with positive results in terms of hemodynamic instability during HD. Furthermore, recent studies suggest that hemodiafiltration may reduce the risk of IDH and cardiovascular mortality, compared with conventional HD. Diabetic and/or old patients, as well as those with a previous cardiovascular event, are the first patients who should receive the new treatment options. Overall, the HD prescription needs to be tailored to each patient's need, to improve the hemodynamic tolerance to treatment and the cardiovascular outcome., (Copyright by Società Italiana di Nefrologia SIN, Rome, Italy.)