Continuous arteriovenous hemofiltration in the patient with hepatorenal syndrome. A case study.

CAVH has gained increasing medical acceptance, as favorable outcomes in the critically ill have proven its worth. Unfortunately, CAVH is often used as a "last ditch" effort for the patient with multisystem organ failure and septicemia. Performing the procedure in such a setting sometimes seems little more than an exercise in futility. However, as more patients such as the patient described in this case study are shown to benefit from CAVH, the nursing role needs to be examined both in performing the procedure and in caring for the critically ill patients. The nursing literature has kept abreast of the procedural aspects of CAVH. Now, critical care nurses must move on to the patient-oriented approach, share case studies, and work together to formulate nursing diagnoses, develop specialized care plans, and identify areas for nursing research.