Clinical effect of purification of dialysis fluids, evidence and experience.

Microinflammation in renal failure has been the subject of numerous contributions to the literature. The bacterial contamination of dialysate and subsequent transfer of bacterial products onto the blood side is an important cause for microinflammation in hemodialysis patients. It has been suggested that the inflammatory process may not merely be an epiphenomenon but rather a pathogenetic factor in the genesis of atherosclerosis [1,2,3]. Thus, by promoting microinflammation, dialysate contamination may contribute directly to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. (c) 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.