Successful Pregnancy Using the NxStage Home Hemodialysis System

Abstract

Pregnancy in the setting of the uremic milieu of renal disease has a lower success rate than in the normal population and is a rare event. While intensified renal replacement therapy (RRT) during pregnancy can lead to improved outcomes, most studies have focused on nocturnal hemodialysis as the main RRT in pregnancy. Although thousands of patients use the home NxStage System One short daily hemodialysis (SDHD) machine in the United States, pregnancy outcomes with this therapy are unknown. The NxStage System One uses low-volume dialysate and hence small and middle molecule clearance may differ compared to conventional therapies and affect pregnancy outcomes. We report a case of a successful conception and pregnancy using the home NxStage system. The NxStage system may provide an alternative to the more routinely used NHD or standard SDHD therapies for women of childbearing age.