The most recent trends of peritoneal dialysis in Japan

By 31 December 2006, more than 260,000 patients were on dialysis therapy in Japan, and 9,243 of them (3.6%) were on peritoneal dialysis (PD). The mean age of PD patients was 5 years less than that of all patients with chronic kidney disease, and the prevalence of diabetes among them was 9.4% lower. Among the PD patients, 18.0% were being treated with a combination of PD and hemodialysis, and 33.4% were being treated with automated PD. A peritoneal equilibration test (PET) had been performed in 22.0% of the patients, who were then classified into the four PET categories. Of the tested patients, 10.3% were placed in the low (L) category; 38.3% in the low-average (LA) category; 38.4%, in the high-average (HA) category; and 13.0%, in the high (H) category. Icodextrin was used by 27.3% of patients classified L, 30.5% of those classified LA, 47.1% of those classified HA, and 55.1% of those classified H. The annual death rate was 6.1%, which was lower than the rate for HD (9.7%); and the annual withdrawal rate was 19.8%. Infectious complications were the main cause for lowered rates of patient and technique survival. Use of PD for older and diabetic patients and of combination therapy with hemodialysis are key perspectives in the most recent report on PD in Japan.