[Therapy of acute renal failure--filtration--dialysis, when?].

Artificial organ support ("artificial kidney") is part of the therapeutic regimen as a whole in patients with acute renal failure. The absolute indications for an artificial kidney (hyperkalemia, hyperhydration, uremic encephalopathy), should be prevented by modern intensive care in the majority of cases. Hemofiltration has the advantage of better cardiovascular tolerance, but is less effective than hemodialysis in respect to elimination of toxins with low molecular weight. The continuous arterio--venous hemofiltration (CAVH) bears the advantage of continuous elimination and minimal cardiovascular side effects.