Ten years' experience with continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis

Area of Science:

• Nephrology
• Internal Medicine

Background:

• Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) and continuous cyclic peritoneal dialysis (CCPD) are established renal replacement therapies.
• Long-term outcomes and complication profiles for these techniques require ongoing evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the long-term patient survival, technique survival, and complication rates associated with CAPD and CCPD.
• To assess the viability of CAPD as an alternative to intermittent hemodialysis for chronic renal failure management.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 171 CAPD and 17 CCPD patients trained up to January 1989.
• Data collection included patient survival, technique survival, and incidence of major complications over a 10-year period.
• Survival rates were analyzed for the overall patient population and specifically for diabetic patients.

Main Results:

• Over 10 years, 5,068 patient-months of experience were accumulated.
• Overall patient survival was 60% at 5 years and 31% at 10 years.
• Diabetic patients had a 5-year survival of 32%. Major complications included peritonitis (499 episodes) and exit-site infections (304 episodes). Technique survival was 62% at 5 years and 40% at 10 years.

Conclusions:

• CAPD demonstrates viability as a long-term dialysis treatment for chronic renal failure.
• The study supports offering CAPD as a comparable option to intermittent hemodialysis.
• Careful monitoring for complications such as peritonitis and exit-site infections is crucial for successful long-term CAPD therapy.