Experience of Sustained Low-Efficiency Dialysis (SLED) in an Intensive Care Unit of a Quaternary Care Hospital.

BACKGROUND: In critically ill patients, sustained low-efficiency dialysis (SLED) has become a viable option for treating acute kidney injury (AKI) instead of continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT). This study aimed to evaluate clinical outcomes in critically ill patients receiving SLED.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: In our ICU, we performed a retrospective cohort study on hemodynamically unstable patients requiring dialysis in the form of SLED. Demographics, clinical, and biochemical variables were analyzed.

RESULTS: A total of 58 patients were enrolled in the study. The mean age was 48.58 ± 15 with a male-to-female ratio of 3:1. Higher APACHE II score, high international normalized ratio, thrombocytopenia, and septic shock were found to be poor prognostic markers, with an overall observed mortality of 56.9%.

CONCLUSION: SLED can be considered as an alternative to CCRT for selected hemodynamically unstable patients requiring renal replacement therapy.