THE EFFECTS OF REPROCESSING CUPROPHANE AND POLYSULFONE DIALYZERS ON BETA-2-MICROGLOBULIN REMOVAL FROM HEMODIALYSIS-PATIENTS

To further define the relationship between dialyzer reuse and the removal of β2-microglobulin (β2M) during dialysis, 26 patients who received hemodialysis were studied. Thirteen patients were dialyzed with conventional cuprophane dialyzers, and thirteen patients were dialyzed with high-flux polysulfone dialyzers. Patients in each group were dialyzed with only new dialyzers during the primary-use phase of the study, and reprocessed dialyzers during the reuse phase. Dialyzers were used six times during the reuse phase. Serum β2M levels were measured both predialysis and postdialysis, and adjusted for fluid loss. Dialysis with conventional cuprophane new dialyzers during the primary-use phase of the study resulted in a 3.3% increase in serum β2M levels, and a 2.4% increase in serum β2M levels during the reuse phase. The difference in the change of the concentration of β2M between primary-use and reuse phases was not statistically significant. Dialysis with high-flux polysulfone new dialyzers during the primary-use phase was associated with a decrease of 59.5% in the mean postdialysis concentration of serum β2M compared with the predialysis level. A corresponding decrease of 62.6% in serum β2M levels was observed after dialysis with high-flux polysulfone reprocessed dialyzers during the reuse phase. These data show no evidence of an adverse effect on the clearance of β2M during dialysis from the reuse of dialyzers up to six times. The results confirm previous studies that have reported that high-flux dialysis with polysulfone dialyzers removes substantial amounts of β2M, and dialysis with conventional cuprophane dialyzers does not. © 1991, National Kidney Foundation, Inc.. All rights reserved.