Sixty Years of ‘Extended Dialysis’ in the ICU

One of the most challenging problems of nephrology and intensive care medicine is the treatment of acute renal failure. Due to its increased incidience and changing patterns, mortality rates remain high despite the advent of modern means of renal replacement therapy [1]–[4]. However, increasing the dose of renal replacement therapy may provide substantial benefits, particularly in patients with intermediate levels of illness severity [5, 6]. To achieve this high dialysis dose, there is renewed interest in prolonged or extended dialysis modalities for critically ill patients with acute renal failure in the intensive care unit (ICU).