Aquapheresis is a medical technology

Medical technology

Medical Technology encompasses a wide range of healthcare products and is used to diagnose, monitor or treat diseases or medical conditions affecting humans. Such technologies are intended to improve the quality of healthcare delivered through earlier diagnosis, less invasive treatment options and...

 designed to remove excess salt and water from the body safely, predictably, and effectively from patients suffering from a condition called fluid overload. It removes the excess salt and water and helps to restore a patient’s fluid balance

Fluid balance

Fluid balance is the concept of human homeostasis that the amount of fluid lost from the body is equal to the amount of fluid taken in. Euvolemia is the state of normal body fluid volume. Water is necessary for all life on Earth...

 or euvolemia.

Uses

Aquapheresis is used to treat a condition called fluid overload or hypervolemia

Hypervolemia

Hypervolemia, or fluid overload, is the medical condition where there is too much fluid in the blood.The opposite condition is hypovolemia, which is too little fluid volume in the blood.-Causes:Excessive sodium or fluid intake:* IV therapy...

. Fluid overload can be caused by many reasons, including heart failure, liver cirrhosis, hypertension

Hypertension

Hypertension or high blood pressure is a cardiac chronic medical condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated. What that means is that the heart is having to work harder than it should to pump the blood around the body. Blood pressure involves two measurements, systolic and...

 and certain kidney diseases. Fluid overload can also be experienced after certain surgical operations. Congestive heart failure

Congestive heart failure

Heart failure often called congestive heart failure is generally defined as the inability of the heart to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the needs of the body. Heart failure can cause a number of symptoms including shortness of breath, leg swelling, and exercise intolerance. The condition...

 is the most common reason for fluid overload.

How it works

• Blood containing excess salt and water is withdrawn from a patient using peripheral or central venous catheters and passed through a special filter. Using a form of ultrafiltration
  Ultrafiltration
  Ultrafiltration is a variety of membrane filtration in which hydrostatic pressure forces a liquid against a semipermeable membrane. Suspended solids and solutes of high molecular weight are retained, while water and low molecular weight solutes pass through the membrane...
  
  , the filter separates the excess salt and water from the blood and the blood is returned to the patient while the fluid is collected in a bag for later disposal.

• Anti-coagulation therapy is often used with aquapheresis to prevent blood from clotting the ultrafiltration filter. Patients must discontinue any anticoagulant medications before starting aquapheresis so they can be placed on intravenous Heparin
  Heparin
  Heparin , also known as unfractionated heparin, a highly sulfated glycosaminoglycan, is widely used as an injectable anticoagulant, and has the highest negative charge density of any known biological molecule...
  
   therapy. Once the Heparin therapy is initiated, the patient's PTT (partial thromboplastin time) levels will be monitored closely per hospital protocol to prevent excessive anti-coagulation. If a patient is allergic to Heparin or has a condition known as Heparin-induced Thrombocytopenia (HIT), an alternative intravenous anti-coagulate may be used.

• The blood is outside the body for less than a minute and the total amount of blood is 33 milliliters (2.5 tablespoons). It is thus an extracorporeal
  Extracorporeal
  An extracorporeal medical procedure is a medical procedure which is performed outside the body.-Circulatory procedures:A procedure in which blood is taken from a patient's circulation to have a process applied to it before it is returned to the circulation...
  
   therapy.

• Up to a 500 milliliter (1 lb) of excess fluid can be removed per hour. The average removal rate is 250 milliliter (1/2 lb) per hour.

• The fluid removed is isotonic
  Isotonic
  The term isotonic may refer to;*Isotonic for the term associated with muscle contraction*An isotone in nuclear physics*Sports drinks are sometimes designed in an isotonic way to assist athletes rehydrate while balancing electrolytes...
  
   to blood and therefore electrolyte
  Electrolyte
  In chemistry, an electrolyte is any substance containing free ions that make the substance electrically conductive. The most typical electrolyte is an ionic solution, but molten electrolytes and solid electrolytes are also possible....
  
   balance is maintained throughout therapy and up to 3.2 grams of sodium per liter can be removed.

• Aquapheresis therapy is delivered by three basic components: a console (the machine with two pumps), the blood filter circuit, and the venous catheter(s).

See also

• Fluid balance
  Fluid balance
  Fluid balance is the concept of human homeostasis that the amount of fluid lost from the body is equal to the amount of fluid taken in. Euvolemia is the state of normal body fluid volume. Water is necessary for all life on Earth...
  
  
• Fluid overload
• Diuretic
  Diuretic
  A diuretic provides a means of forced diuresis which elevates the rate of urination. There are several categories of diuretics. All diuretics increase the excretion of water from bodies, although each class does so in a distinct way.- Medical uses :...
  
  s
• Apheresis
  Apheresis
  Apheresis is a medical technology in which the blood of a donor or patient is passed through an apparatus that separates out one particular constituent and returns the remainder to the circulation...
  
  
• Congestive Heart Failure
  Congestive heart failure
  Heart failure often called congestive heart failure is generally defined as the inability of the heart to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the needs of the body. Heart failure can cause a number of symptoms including shortness of breath, leg swelling, and exercise intolerance. The condition...
  
  
• Hypervolemia
  Hypervolemia
  Hypervolemia, or fluid overload, is the medical condition where there is too much fluid in the blood.The opposite condition is hypovolemia, which is too little fluid volume in the blood.-Causes:Excessive sodium or fluid intake:* IV therapy...
  
  
• Ultrafiltration (renal)
  Ultrafiltration (renal)
  In biological terms, ultrafiltration occurs at the barrier between the blood and the filtrate in the renal corpuscle or Bowman's capsule in the kidneys. The Bowman's capsule contains a dense capillary network called the glomerulus. Blood flows into these capillaries through a wide afferent...
  
  
• Ultrafiltration (industrial)
  Ultrafiltration (industrial)
  Ultrafiltration is a type of membrane technical filtration. Industries such as chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing, food and beverage processing, and waste water treatment, employ ultrafiltration in order to recycle flow or add value to later products...
  
  

External links

• The UNLOAD Study: Ultrafiltration Versus Intravenous Diuretics for Patients Hospitalized for Acute Decompensated Heart Failure. http://www.unloadstudy.com
• Google Search on Aquapheresis: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=aquapheresis