CRRT TROUBLESHOOTING

By Dr Michaela Cartner & Dr Yogesh Apte

Dr Michaela Cartner / Yogesh Apte
During this brief presentation, Dr Michaela Cartner and Dr Yogesh Apte outline some of the common mechanical problems that occur with CRRT.

Dr Michaela Cartner (@Mjcartner) first describes the common access pressure problem and a systematic strategy for identifying where the issue has occurred. She identifies how to determine whether there is an issue with the patient, the machine or the vascular access, as well as strategies to correct the problems.

Dr Yogesh Apte then identifies common flow problems and how they affect the dialysis filter. He describes the two main problems including a rise in transmembrane pressures and clotting of the filter. Filters affected by increased transmembrane pressures may be salvageable with one easy step, however clotted filters (aka the bane of dialysis nurses existence) need to be changed with a review of anticoagulation!