Could someone please tell me what the average blood flow rate (QB) is in hemodialysis patients? Several years ago it was 300-400ml/min, but in the literature recently there has been talk of blood flows less than 1000 ml/min as being indicative of access failure.

Dear JDKASDAN:
You may be confusing Qb with Access Blood Flow. The average Qb is between 350-450 Ml/min. This is based on a physician's prescription. It is the amount of blood delivered by the blood pump on the machine. Access Blood Flow is different. It is actually the amount of blood going through the access measured in Ml/min. According to the National Kidney Foundation K/DOQI Clinical Practice Guidelines for Vaascular Access, 2000. Am J Kidney Disease 37:S137-S181, 2001 (suppl1)
S150 Table lll-3
"Access flow less than 600 Ml/min, the patient should be referred for fistulogram.
Access flow less than 1000 Ml/min that has decreased by more than 25% over 4 months should be refered for fistulogram. I hope this helps answer your question.
Best,
Nancy

quote:

Originally posted by Nancy LePain:
Dear JDKASDAN:
You may be confusing Qb with Access Blood Flow. The average Qb is between 350-450 Ml/min. This is based on a physician's prescription. It is the amount of blood delivered by the blood pump on the machine. Access Blood Flow is different. It is actually the amount of blood going through the access measured in Ml/min. According to the National Kidney Foundation K/DOQI Clinical Practice Guidelines for Vaascular Access, 2000. Am J Kidney Disease 37:S137-S181, 2001 (suppl1)
S150 Table lll-3
"Access flow less than 600 Ml/min, the patient should be referred for fistulogram.
Access flow less than 1000 Ml/min that has decreased by more than 25% over 4 months should be refered for fistulogram. I hope this helps answer your question.
Best,
Nancy

How exactly is access flow determined or measured?

There are several methods currently available: Color Flow Doppler, Transonic HD-01, In-Line diagnostics', new TQa ( Transcutaneous Access Blood Flow)