Designing technology to meet the therapeutic demands of acute renal injury in neonates and small infants

Within paediatric intensive care units (PICU), clinicians face an increasing demand to support neonates and small infants with acute renal injury or medication-resistant oedema. Of all PICU admissions, fluid overload or a requirement for renal replacement therapy (RRT) is a poor prognostic factor, resulting in death in 25–50 % of such babies. For those who survive, RRT is supportive until kidney recovery, but up to 30 % of babies may have chronic kidney sequelae. Owing to their size, neonates and small infants present specific challenges for dialysis. Dialysis technology was designed for use in adults and had to be adapted for pediatric use, creating a less than ideal treatment environment fraught with complications. Consequently, wherever possible, the vast majority of physicians default to peritoneal dialysis. Clinicians now have access to two new dialysis systems with technology specifically designed for use in babies ranging from 800 g to 8 kg: the CARPEDIEM and Nidus exhibit preliminary data that demonstrates both purification and ultrafiltration capability, with safety records that exceed any existing systems presently in practice. These are truly exciting times, as these systems have the potential to revolutionise how such babies in the PICU are treated.