Involves dialysis or filtration treatments that operate continuously up to 12-14 hours.
Continuous kidney replacement therapy mitigates the risk of hemodynamic instability during intermittent hemodialysis.
Major advantage of continuous therapy is the slower rate of solute or fluid removal per unit of time with better tolerance compared to conventional management, since many complications of intermittent hemodialysis are related to the rapid rate of solute and fluid loss.
It may be provided as continuous hemofiltration, with convective solute clearance; continuous hemodialysis, with solute cleared predominantly through diffusion; or as continuous hemodiafiltration, which combines conduct diffusive and convective clearance.
Continuous kidney replacement therapy is designed to be provided continuously over a period of 24 hours or longer, and uses lower rates of solute and fluid removal than intermittent hemodialysis but achieves similar or better clearances overtime.