Anticoagulant Use in Renal Replacement Therapy in the Mid Trent Critical Care Network: A Survey of Practice

Abstract

Anticoagulant drug use is one of the methods employed to prolong filter life during renal replacement therapy in the critically ill patient. In the Mid Trent Critical Care network, a variety of anticoagulant regimens are used with varying efficacy. This is a retrospective survey of anticoagulant regimens, comparing mechanical filter life, blood product use and documented complications in the five largest units using renal replacement therapy in the region, and to evaluate how effective our regimens were compared to standards defined in the medical literature.