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Background Implantation of the peritoneal dialysis catheter (PDC), usually an elective procedure, may necessitate unexpected hospitalization and even transfer to intensive care due to the multiple comorbidities and inherent instability of the end-stage renal disease patient. Information on hospitalization after PDC implantation is limited and details about the reason for hospitalization are lacking.Methods We performed a cohort study in consecutive patients who underwent PDC implantation at a single institution from September 2007 to September 2013. Clinical characteristics of enrolled patients, technique of the implantation procedure, and all-cause unexpected hospitalization and morbidity within 14 days after implantation were analyzed.Results Excluding the patients with pre-arranged admission, a total of 246 patients receiving 252 PDC implantations during the 6 years were studied. After 39 procedures (15.5%), patients had an unexpected hospital stay or re-admission due to operative complications (33.3%), worsening of disease (35.9%), or a single-night hospital stay for observation (30.8%). Compared with discharged patients, the patients with unexpected hospitalization were older (p= 0.001), experienced higher rates of previous episodes of heart failure (p= 0.006) and heart disease (p< 0.001), had more use of general anesthesia (GA) (p= 0.046), underwent more added procedures during the implantation (p= 0.02), and had more episodes of flow obstruction and peritonitis after implantation (p= 0.012 and p< 0.001, respectively). Using a multivariable logistic regression, we showed that age, cardiac morbidity, use of general anesthesia, PDC flow problems and peritonitis after implantation were independent predictors of all-cause unexpected hospitalization.Conclusions For the first time, our study analyzed the predictors of unplanned hospitalization after PDC implantation and identified the salient risk factors. Increased focus to identify patients at greatest risk for hospitalization, evaluation of processes of care, and implementation of preventive strategies may be helpful to reduce unplanned hospitalization after catheter insertion.

Background A functioning catheter is vital to the success of peritoneal dialysis (PD). Catheter complications related to the insertion procedure remain a major hindrance to PD utilization. Most catheters are placed by surgeons. Suboptimal catheter outcomes appear to be related to inadequate training and experience during surgical residency and the absence of educational opportunities to remedy this deficit once the surgeon is in practice.Objective The aim of this report is to describe a 1-day comprehensive surgeon training program in PD access surgery and to convey the results of the first 7 courses.Methods Needs assessment data served as the foundation for formulating course objectives and content. A disease-based approach to PD was taken to provide both didactic instruction and laboratory exercises. Surgical simulators permitted skills development for each key task in catheter placement. Educational outcomes were measured with pre- and post-tests, course evaluation, and follow-up survey.Results Seven courses were attended by 134 surgeons with an average faculty to participant ratio of 1:4 during hands-on laboratory sessions. Pre- and post-testing demonstrated a class-average normalized educational gain of 50%. On a 5-point Likert scale, the course was scored highly on 14 areas of evaluation with average responses ranging from 4.4 to 4.9. A follow-up survey conducted a mean of 28 months after the programs revealed significantly increased utilization of all 10 course-targeted PD access skills. Participants gave mean scores of 4.6 for improved confidence in case management and 4.4 for better catheter outcomes.Conclusions A comprehensive 1-day peritoneal access training course can produce long-term self-assessed improvement in surgical management and PD catheter outcomes.

Successful performance of peritoneal dialysis (PD) depends on a properly functioning PD catheter. Catheter malfunction remains a significant cause of technique failure, especially early in the course of therapy. Common causes of catheter malfunction include catheter displacement, omental or bowel wrapping, and fibrin clots. Less commonly, various intraperitoneal structures have been reported to lead to obstruction, including appendices epiploicae of sigmoid colon and the fallopian tube. Peritoneal dialysis catheter blockage due to fimbriae of the fallopian tube is being recognized as an important cause of catheter malfunction in females due to the increasing availability of diagnostic laparoscopy. We report 5 episodes of catheter malfunction in 4 patients on PD from a single center as a result of obstruction by the fallopian tube.