Comparison of severity of acquired renal cysts between CAPD and hemodialysis

The prevalence and severity of renal cystic changes in 15 continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients were compared with those in 15 hemodialysis patients matched by age, sex and duration of dialysis. Cyst grade and kidney volume were prospectively evaluated using CT scan. In 15 age- and sex-matched patients on long-term dialysis, follow-up for a mean of 32 months, beginning 73 months after the start of dialysis, revealed that, in both treatment modalities, a significant increase in cyst grade, kidney volume and the rate of increase in kidney volume as a reflection of cystic change (3.08 +/- 3.87 [mean +/- SD] ml/month in CAPD, 1.43 +/- 1.17 ml/month in hemodialysis) had occurred. However, differences in these parameters between CAPD and hemodialysis groups were not significant. In 7 patients in the CAPD group who were also treated by hemodialysis, it could not be statistically proven that the rate of increase in kidney volume during initial hemodialysis was different from that observed in subsequent CAPD (2.60 +/- 2.44 ml/month during hemodialysis, 5.13 +/- 4.94 ml/month during CAPD). This longitudinal prospective study suggests that the prevalence and severity of acquired renal cystic disease are the same in long-term CAPD and hemodialysis patients.