Comparison of incidence of peritonitis between peritoneal dialysis solution types.

Background: Peritonitis is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in patients receiving peritoneal dialysis (PD). However, there are no data about the comparison of the incidence of peritonitis among PD solution types. The aim of the present study was to compare the incidence of peritonitis among PD solutions in PD patients treated either with Nutrineal or with Extraneal or with conventional glucose solutions.
Materials and Methods: A total of 147 patients (60 female and 87 male) who underwent PD were included in the study. Of these patients, 47 used only glucose solutions (group I), 79 used glucose solutions combined with Extraneal (group II) and 21 used glucose solutions combined with Nutrineal (group III). The laboratory values and demographics of the patients were noted.
Results: There was no significant difference in the frequency of peritonitis among the three groups. Peritonitis occurred in 14 of 47 patients (29.8%) in group I, in 28 of 79 patients (35.4%) in group II and in 6 of 21 patients (28.6%) in group III. Patients with serum albumin levels below 3 g/dl had a significantly higher peritonitis rate than patients with serum albumin levels above 3 g/dl (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: We have shown that a low serum albumin level is an important risk factor for the development of peritonitis in CAPD patients. The PD solution does not appear to be a risk factor for the development of peritonitis in CAPD patients, although this question should be studied further with larger numbers.
(Copyright 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel.)