Dry body weight and ultrafiltration targets in peritoneal dialysis.

A review is given on methods that can be used for the assessment of dry body weight in peritoneal dialysis patients. Besides clinical examination, the use of natriuretic hormone concentrations in plasma, and the value of multifrequency bio-impedance analysis is discussed. Ultrafiltration targets as formulated in various guidelines are reviewed. Finally, it is concluded that the ultrafiltration target is the amount required to keep patients euvolemic with an exposure to glucose that is as low as possible. Copyright (C) 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel