The Use of B. Braun Machines to Provide Home Hemodialysis: Technical Aspects.

BACKGROUND

In previous work, we demonstrated that using the B. Braun hemodialysis (HD) machine for home HD typically delivers higher single treatment Kt/V (spKt/V), weekly standard Kt/V, and urea reduction ratio (URR) compared to the NxStage home HD machine.

METHODS

We reviewed the technical requirements and home modifications necessary to implement the B. Braun HD machine for home HD based on our 5 years of experience with 40 patients.

RESULTS

Successful home use of the B. Braun machine at home required a larger dedicated space, installation of a dedicated reverse osmosis water treatment system, specialized plumbing and electrical connections, and tailored machine-specific patient training.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite these home requirements, most of our patients found these modifications manageable and the machine easy and intuitive to operate. Our experience supports the B. Braun machine as another practical option for home HD, including nocturnal HD treatments.