A Comparison of the Effects of two Low- and High-flux Dialyzers on the Patient's Comfort and Hemodialysis Complications: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Hemodialysis is the most common method of treatment for end stage renal disease. The hemodialysis dialyzers are divided into low-flux and high-flux. This study aimed to compare the effects of these two dialyzers on patient’s comfort and hemodialysis complications in end-stage renal dialysis patients. In a clinical trial, convenience and complications (variations of blood pressure, nausea, vomiting, itching, headache, and fever and chills) of 30 eligible patients were assessed during hemodialysis in two groups with low- and high-flux dialyzers. Data were analyzed using ANOVA, paired t-test, and Chi-square were analyzed. The significance level was considered to be p<0.05. In this study, 70% of the patients were male and 30% were female, and the mean age of the samples was 47.4±10.7 years. The blood pressure significantly decreased in dialyzers (p<0.001), but there was no statistical difference between the dialyzers (p>0.05). The incidence and severity of hemodialysis complications did not show any statistically significant changes between the two dialyzers, (p>0.05). The patient’s comfort was higher with high-flux dialyzer, but it was not significant (p>0.05). According to the results of this study, in the case of no statistically significant differences in the incidence and severity of complications and also the importance of dialyzers in hemodialysis patients, it is recommended that high-flux filter be used in dialysis wards.