Peritonitis and the patient with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

The prevalence of HIV positive patients (HIV pts) with ESRD is likely to increase and many will be going on CAPD. There are, however, factors which cause one to be concerned about a possible increased risk of peritonitis in these patients. These include not only their impaired immune and nutritional status, but often their mental status. We examined the incidence and type of peritonitis among the 184 patients who have been in our program since December 1983 for a total of 4,017 patient months (pt mo). During this time we treated 9 known HIV pts (4 drug users and 5 homosexuals) for a total of 114 pt mos. We also looked at albumin, cholesterol, and creatinine as possible risk markers. We found a greater than two fold incidence of peritonitis in the HIV positive patients and that low albumin was a significant risk factor in the HIV negative patients, but not in the HIV positive patients.