Use of streptokinase or urokinase in recurrent CAPD peritonitis

In patients undergoing CAPD treatment, removal of peritoneal catheters has become a standard practice after two or more episodes of recurrent peritonitis which are refractory to antibiotic treatment. Immediate replacement of peritoneal catheters is not always safe in the presence of active peritonitis. Temporary institution of hemodialysis treatment in some of these patients may also be impossible because of unstable hemodynamic states or loss of vascular access sites. Successful continuation of CAPD treatment in some of these patients has been reported by using intraperitoneal (IP) administration of fibrinolytic agents such as streptokinase or urokinase as an adjunctive therapy to antibiotic treatment and as an outpatient procedure. Although numbers of cases reported are few in the literature and controlled studies in large numbers of patients are lacking, these reports emphasize the safety of IP use of these agents without any major systemic adverse effects. The reports are reviewed here to provide some practical guidelines for safe use of these agents in selected patients with recurrent CAPD-associated peritonitis.