Dry weight

The post-dialysis weight that allows pre-dialysis blood pressure to remain normal despite interdialytic weight gain and without drugs. At dry weight the patient has no clinical signs or symptoms of hyper- or hypovolaemia. Note that the presence of any oedema usually indicates two or more kg overweight. At centres providing long hours of dialysis, it is often reported that blood pressure can be controlled by attention to sodium and fluid balance alone in 90% or more of haemodialysis patients. This is achieved by:

• very frequent clinical review of dry weight
• slow reduction of post-dialysis weight over weeks with concurrent reduction of antihypertensive drugs
• lengthen dialysis if hypotension occurs
• lower dialysis sodium to reduce thirst

Remember that dry weight often will rise after an initial fall in new patients, as nutrition improves

These two articles provide excellent information:

Nephrol.Dial.Transplant 12:1104, 1997
Nephrol.Dial.Transplant 14:121-4, 1999

Neil Turner was the main author for this page. It was updated in October 2000 and reviewed in July 2002,, last amended Thursday, November 30, 2006.

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