Noninfectious causes of cloudy peritoneal dialysate

M A Rocklin1, I Teitelbaum

  • 1Department of Internal Medicine, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver 80262, USA.

Seminars in Dialysis
|February 24, 2001
PubMed

Insights

Cloudy dialysate fluid with peritonitis symptoms often indicates infection. However, some cases are culture-negative, requiring investigation into aseptic causes for proper diagnosis and treatment.

Area of Science:

  • Nephrology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Clinical Diagnostics

Background:

  • Cloudy dialysate fluid and peritonitis symptoms typically suggest infectious peritonitis.
  • Diagnosis is usually confirmed by culturing the dialysate fluid.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the diverse aseptic causes of culture-negative cloudy dialysate.
  • To propose an organizational scheme for diagnosing these cases.

Main Methods:

  • Review of literature on culture-negative cloudy dialysate.
  • Development of a diagnostic framework based on dialysate constituents.

Main Results:

  • Infectious peritonitis is the common cause of cloudy dialysate.
  • A significant subset of patients present with culture-negative cloudy dialysate.
  • Aseptic etiologies must be considered in culture-negative cases.

Conclusions:

  • Culture-negative cloudy dialysate necessitates exploring non-infectious causes.
  • Classifying turbidity by cellular or noncellular components aids diagnosis.
  • A structured approach improves diagnostic accuracy and therapeutic management for peritonitis.

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