Utility of citrate dialysate in management of acute kidney injury in children.

Dialysis concentrate acidified with citrate as opposed to acetate has been reported to prevent clotting in hemodialysis circuits, and improve dialysis efficiency in adults. There is no information on its use in children. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the utility of citrate dialysate for renal replacement therapy in a pediatric population with acute kidney injury. We performed a retrospective review of our experience using Citrasate(®) concentrate from December 2007 to August 2009. All treatments were provided using the Fresenius 2008 dialysis machine. Citrasate(®) was utilized in 7 children aged 60.3±51.0 months (mean±SD), range 13 months to 12 years. The number of treatments varied from 4 to 31 (mean 12±8 treatments) for a total of 89 treatments. Rare sporadic mild hypocalcemia was noted but could not be definitively linked with the use of Citrasate(®). Four children also required low-dose heparin (3.6-15 U/kg/h) due to clotting. Activated clotting times (when checked) were not affected by this low-dose heparin therapy. Some degree of clotting occurred in 21 of 89 (23.5%) treatments. Early termination of treatment due to thrombosis was required in 7 of 89 (7.8%) treatments. In summary, use of Citrasate(®) dialysis concentrate was well tolerated in critically ill children with acute kidney injury. Citrasate(®) reduced but did not completely eliminate the need for heparin in our population. Further study in a more diverse population would be helpful.