A Simplified Approach to Understanding Urea Kinetics in Peritoneal Dialysis and Hemodialysis

Urea, a small molecular solute, is the candidate molecule commonly used to understand solute kinetics both in peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis. Serum urea or serum urea nitrogen levels are utilized to calculate measures of dialysis adequacy and nutritional status in dialysis patients. The kinetic behavior of this molecule is however different for a continuous therapy like peritoneal dialysis vis a vis an intermittent therapy like hemodialysis. This article presents a simplified approach to understanding urea kinetics on dialysis.