There is current controversy about whether intermittent on-line hemodiafiltration (IHDF) gives better results than hemodialysis in an outpatient setting. In Europe, several observational studies have compared outcomes in patients getting dialysis with those getting IHDF. These have suggested a lower mortality rate and other favorable outcomes in patients getting IHDF vs. those getting ordinary hemodialysis.  However, the issue is not settled at this time, because the required randomized controlled clinical trials have not been done. Another problem has been that in several of the trials done, IHDF was compared to dialysis using low-flux (small pore) membranes, and the benefit found may have been due more to the use of a high-flux membrane than to the addition of convective transport (filtration) to dialysis. A recent Cochrane database review  of available trials could not find a definite benefit of either IHF or IHDF vs. hemodialysis in terms of outcomes.
Is on-line intermittent hemodiafiltration (IHDF) better than regular hemodialysis?
There is current controversy about whether intermittent on-line hemodiafiltration ({{ORGANIZATION}}) gives better results than hemodialysis in an outpatient setting. In Europe, several observational studies have compared outcomes in patients getting dialysis with those getting IHDF. These have suggested a lower mortality rate and other favorable outcomes in patients getting IHDF vs. those getting ordinary hemodialysis.  However, the issue is not settled at this time, because the required randomized controlled clinical trials have not been done. Another problem has been that in several of the trials done, {{ORGANIZATION}} was compared to dialysis using low-flux (small pore) membranes, and the benefit found may have been due more to the use of a high-flux membrane than to the addition of convective transport (filtration) to dialysis. A recent {{ORGANIZATION}} database review  of available trials could not find a definite benefit of either IHF or {{ORGANIZATION}} vs. hemodialysis in terms of outcomes.