Back to the future: extended dialysis for treatment of acute kidney injury in the intensive care unit.

Authors: Kielstein JT, Schiffer M, Hafer C
On September 11, 1945, Maria Schafstaat was the first patient who successfully underwent a dialysis treatment for acute kidney injury (AKI). The ingenious design of the first dialysis machine, made of cellophane tubing wrapped around a cylinder that rotated in a bath of fluid, together with the brave determination to treat patients with AKI, enabled the Dutch physician W.J. Kolff to save the life of the 67-year-old woman. By treating her for 690 minutes (i.e., 11.5 hours) with a blood flow rate of 116 ml/min, Kolff also set the coordinates of a renal replacement therapy that has enjoyed an unsurpassed renaissance over the last decade for treatment of severely ill patients with AKI in the intensive care unit (ICU). Prolonged dialysis time with ...