- All modes of RRT (with the exception of PD) utilise an extracorporeal circuit
- Contact of blood with the foreign surface results in:
- Activation of both the intrinsic and the extrinsic pathway of coagulation
- Activation of platelets
- Exacerbated by pro-coagulopathic effects of AKI
- When the filter clots:
- Partially – the filter performance is reduced
- Completely – the filter is lost and treatment us interrupted with loss of the filter, circuit and blood contained within
