Clinical outcomes of systemic lupus erythematosus patients undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcome of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD).

Eighteen SLE patients who had been undergoing CAPD for at least 3 months in our unit were compared with 36 other age- and gender-matched non-diabetic CAPD patients with an underlying primary chronic glomerulonephritis (CGn). The clinical outcome, infective complications, lupus activities, biochemical parameters, haemoglobin level and the use of erythropoietin were reviewed.

The duration of dialysis of the two studied groups was not different, with a mean of 35.4 months for the SLE group and 36.7 months for the CGn group. Before dialysis, SLE patients had a significantly lower albumin level (30.4+/-6.6 vs 35.4+/-5.59 g/dl, P<0.01), while the mean haemoglobin levels of the two groups were similar (8.5+/-1.8 g/dl for SLE vs 9.0+/-1.9 g/dl for the control group). However, the weekly dose of erythropoietin (EPO) used was significantly higher in the SLE group (6000 vs 3818 U/week, P<0.01) to maintain a similar haemoglobin level during dialysis. Regarding the infective complications, the SLE group had a higher peritonitis rate (5.7 episodes/100 patient-months vs 2.4 episodes/100 patient-months, P<0.05), and an increase in the non catheter related infection rate (6.67 episodes/100 patient-months vs 1.1 episodes/100 patient-months, P<0.001). However, no significant difference could be demonstrated in the Tenckhoff catheter exit site infection rate (2 episodes/100 vs 1.7 episode/100 patient-months). The number of patients who received a kidney transplant or required a change of mode to haemodialysis was similar among the two groups. Seven patients died during the follow-up period, and the overall mortality rate was much higher in the SLE group than in the control group (0.83/100 vs 0.15/100 patient-months, P<0.05).

SLE patients on CAPD have a significantly lower pre-dialysis serum albumin level and use a higher dose of Epo to achieve a comparable haemoglobin level than other non-diabetic CGn CAPD patients. They also have a poorer prognosis in terms of infective complications and mortality rate.