[Peritoneal dialysis catheters. Immediate outcome after 30 days]

Results of a retrospective study of 124 peritoneal dialysis catheters introduced in 74 patients from October 1982 to November 1991 showed that 91% of catheters were functional at 30 day follow up, allowing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis to proceed under satisfactory conditions. However, surgical replacement was necessary in 21.81% (26 catheters) during the first month, due essentially to mechanical complications: exteriorized or non exteriorized leaks (7 cases), dysfunction with faulty perfusion or emptying (11 cases) and catheter displacement (3 cases). Five catheters (4.25%) had to be withdrawn because of infection, suggestive of the need for prophylactic antibiotic therapy. No determining factor could be found in the present series or in the literature to explain the genesis of these mechanical complications, the cause of which is without doubt multifactorial. Rapid surgical replacement allows functional survival of the majority of catheters without increasing the risk of infection.