No abstract

SummaryA 29-year-old gardener developed acute renal failure following the ingestion of 'Mersil', a combination of mercurous and mercuric chloride, achieving a plasma mercury concentration of 22,000 umol/litre (400 ,ug/litre). Haemodialysis and charcoal haemoperfusion were ineffective in removing mercury despite prior treatment with the chelating agent dimercaprol. The acute renal failure resolved after 10 days and there are no residual sequelae.

No abstract

No abstract

Two patients with profound dialysis-induced hypotension were seen, in both of whom sequential ultrafiltration and haemodialysis failed to alleviate their symptoms; in one bicarbonate dialysis similarly produced no improvement. The hypotension was frequently severe enough to necessitate premature termination of the dialysis. Haemofiltration was associated with almost total resolution of symptoms, adequate biochemical control of uraemia, and satisfactory removal of weight gain between dialysis sessions.Profound hypotension during dialysis may become more common as older patients enter dialysis programmes; haemofiltration is a valuable technique in such cases.