**5. Conclusions**

Renal replacement therapies delivered in ICUs are based on one or a combination of the same three basic principles of all extracorporeal blood-based treatments: diffusion, ultrafiltration and convection. Extensive literature has been published to guide clinicians for timing initiation, modality choice and dosing that could be summarized as:


Significant differences are observed between guidelines and clinical practice regarding anticoagulation and timing of initiation. Forthcoming guidelines updates will further help to standardize approach in RRT prescription. However, data are scarce to guide termination of RRT; large prospective trials are needed before strong recommendations could be made. Finally, usual prescriptions could not be adequate for some patients with challenging scenarios, where an individualized strategies need to be applied.
