Advances in Peritoneal Dialysis

Peritonitis is an important cause of morbidity, mortality, and technique failure in patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD). The most effective approach to peritonitis is prevention, which includes careful patient training and follow-up. Although peritonitis as a result of contiguous spread of bacteria or fungi during invasive procedures, or as a result of seeding of the peritoneum during bacteremia, is uncommon, the likelihood of such spread is often predictable, and the risk can be mitigated with antibiotic prophylaxis...

Complications of peritoneal dialysis (PD) create a significant burden for patients and providers. Some complications, such as infections and leaks, are preventable or easily treatable; however, potential fatal complications, such as encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis (EPS), cost patients their lives. Here, we present the case of a PD patient who might have had early, subtle, but ominous symptoms and signs of EPS, diagnosed in its early stages and promptly managed.A 57-year-old man who had been receiving PD for 6 years began having recurrent episodes of abdominal pain, blood-tinged effluent, and peritonitis...

Endogenous peritonitis resulting from inflammation or perforation of an abdominal viscus-a result, for example, of diverticulitis, cholecystitis, or acute appendicitis-can be a complication in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD), with significant morbidity and a high incidence of catheter loss.Here, we describe an end-stage renal disease patient on PD who presented with acute abdominal pain and who was diagnosed with uncomplicated PD peritonitis. His clinical course was complicated by development of eosinophilic peritonitis because of an allergy to vancomycin...

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is an excellent treatment option for the patients with end-stage renal disease, having been shown to yield improved patient satisfaction and economic benefit. Many surgeons and physicians believe that patients with prior abdominal surgeries or other abdominal complications are not viable candidates for PD and that prevalent PD patients needing abdominal surgery should be switched to hemodialysis. The purpose of the present review is to address those misconceptions.Our review of literature shows that, when appropriately planned, PD can still be an acceptable option for patients with end-stage renal disease and certain abdominal complications, including abdominal surgery, provided that the peritoneum is not compromised...

Hernias and peritoneal dialysis (PD) catheter leaks are frequent complications in patients on PD. Transplant recipients have multiple risk factors for delayed wound healing, such as use of corticosteroids and sirolimus, and the presence of uremia and diabetes mellitus. We report a rare occurrence of incisional hernia attributable to internal wound dehiscence after PD catheter placement in a patient on sirolimus.A 34-year-old Latino American man was started on PD training 4 weeks after placement of a PD catheter...

Upon peritoneal dialysis (PD) discontinuation in frail patients, we have re-embedded the catheter and left it subcutaneously buried. However, we have not evaluated the long-term prognosis of those patients after the procedure or the complications associated with buried catheters. We therefore aimed to clarify the long-term prognosis of patients with a re-embedded catheter and to identify any associated complications.The outcomes of 10 patients having a catheter that was re-embedded between February 2010 and May 2016 were assessed by interviewing the patients or their families (when possible), and by reviewing medical records...

The results of several recent studies indicate that the practice of peritoneal dialysis catheter (PDC) insertion by nephrologists is safe. However, few studies have addressed the important issue of safety in surgeries related to PD, including PDC removal and other types of surgery. In the present study, we aimed to verify whether the incidence of early postoperative complications for surgical procedures related to PD and performed by nephrologists meets the audit standards of clinical practice guidelines for peritoneal access...

Coagulopathies and bleeding disorders can affect dialysis outcomes by increasing the thrombosis risk at the arteriovenous access or by causing prolonged bleeding at access or catheter sites. We present the case of a 68-year-old woman with combined antiphospholipid syndrome and factor XI deficiency, with chronic prolongation of activated partial thromboplastin time that was not correctable with fresh-frozen plasma (FFP).The patient had a history of stroke, but was not on antiplatelet therapy because of mucocutaneous bleeding events...

Patients with end-stage renal failure are believed to have an increase of oxidative stress. However, any variation in oxidative stress between patients receiving hemodialysis (HD) and those receiving peritoneal dialysis (PD) are still unclear. In the present study, we investigated variation in oxidative stress in 54 HD and 23 PD patients during their initial dialysis period.We measured serum pentosidine and indoxylsulfuric acid as markers of oxidative stress every 6 months from the start of the dialysis therapy to 30 months of treatment...

Free water transport (FWT) during peritoneal dialysis (PD) can easily be measured by Na+ kinetics. In long-term PD, FWT might reflect peritoneal fibrosis, but morphologic or functional relationships have not been investigated. Nonconventional dialysis solutions might be associated with better preservation of peritoneal tissues and function. We developed a long-term peritoneal exposure model in rats with impaired kidney function and investigated peritoneal morphology and function in that model after exposure to conventional and nonconventional solutions...

Hyper- and hypophosphatemia are recognized risk factors for all-cause mortality in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. Recent changes have now focused PD solute clearance targets on urea clearance, rather than on larger solutes, including phosphate. We therefore studied peritoneal phosphate clearance in a cohort of PD patients to determine which factors were clinically relevant.We reviewed results from 451 adult PD patients who were attending for their first assessment of peritoneal membrane function [31.2% treated by continuous ambulatory PD (CAPD); 24...

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) obviates the need for temporary vascular access in end-stage renal disease; however, extremely heavy weight has been viewed as a relative contraindication to PD.We performed a cross-sectional review of multiple clinical and laboratory variables for 75 current or past PD patients (vintage > 6 months), comparing dialysis adequacy parameters for those with a large body weight (>100 kg, LWS group) and with a normal body weight (<75 kg, NWS group).In the LWS group (n = 17), mean weight was 117...

Bullous lesions in patients with end-stage renal disease are uncommon and can pose diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. We present a female patient with end-stage renal disease, bullous skin lesions affecting mainly sun-exposed areas, and high ferritin levels. She also had hepatitis C. Her serum porphyrin panel was suggestive of porphyria cutanea tarda. Skin biopsy excluded inflammatory pathologies. Phlebotomy during each hemodialysis, continuation of darbepoetin, and avoidance of any further doses of intravenous iron, with close monitoring of hemoglobin, resulted in a gradual drop in ferritin level and improvement of the skin lesions...

Calciphylaxis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Intravenous sodium thiosulfate (STS) is the mainstay of therapy for calciphylaxis. In peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients with calciphylaxis, intravenous STS poses logistic and financial challenges. Even though pharmacokinetic studies show poor bioavailability of oral STS, we report successful use of oral STS in 2 PD patients with calciphylaxis.A 55-year-old Latina American woman with diabetes was initiated on PD after access failure and chronic hypotension...

Neutral icodextrin peritoneal dialysis (PD) fluid (n-ICO) has become available for use in Japan. However, removal of water and solutes remains to be elucidated in detail. The present study was designed to determine removal of water, electrolytes, and small, middle, and large molecules in a period of 16 hours. In addition, biocompatibility with respect to peritoneal mesothelial cells was determined.Three stable patients undergoing PD at Tohoku University Hospital were administered n-ICO. Water removal was monitored every 2 hours...

In the present study, we assessed the effect of chronic tolvaptan treatment and compared it with the effect of conventional treatment without tolvaptan. In addition, changes in cardiac load and body fluid composition were compared.The study enrolled 22 patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis who had been receiving tolvaptan for more than 1 year and 10 patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis who had been treated with conventional diuretics. Left ventricular mass index (LVMI), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and E/e' index were measured by echocardiography at baseline and after 12 months of tolvaptan treatment (or an equivalent period)...

Cardiovascular disease is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in chronic kidney disease patients. Because of a higher occurrence of asymptomatic coronary artery disease and increased perioperative cardiovascular mortality in kidney transplant patients, screening for coronary artery disease before transplant surgery is essential. Various studies have shown that cardiac stress testing is an unreliable screening method in these patients because of significant variability in sensitivity and negative predictive value...

Patients undergoing dialysis are at high risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Mortality differences between peritoneal dialysis (PD) and hemodialysis (HD) are widely debated. The question of whether dialysis modality affects the risk for CVD remains to be addressed.In the present study, we evaluated the influence of hemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) on survival and the risk of developing de novo CVD. Our observational prospective study enrolled 157 end-stage renal disease patients on HD or PD for 12 months...

Encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis (EPS) is an infrequent but serious complication that is observed mostly in patients on long-term peritoneal dialysis (PD). However it can occur after short-term PD, in association with "second hit" risk factors such as peritonitis, acute cessation of PD, or kidney transplantation with the use of calcineurin inhibitors.In our case, a young woman with second-hit risk factors presented with clinical and abdominal computed tomography findings consistent with EPS after short-term PD...

Infection remains the leading complication of peritoneal dialysis (PD). Topical mupirocin and gentamicin are frequently used to prevent infections. Mupirocin ointment has been reported to cause damage to both polyurethane and silicone PD catheters. Gentamicin cream has not been associated with physical damage to catheters.A 64-year-old woman on PD developed relapsing peritonitis with Staphylococcus epidermidis. Because of a drainage problem and white discoloration at the exit site, which is known as " frosting," she underwent catheter exchange...