Abdominal pseudocysts following peritoneal dialysis-associated peritonitis: a report of 3 cases

Common complications of peritoneal dialysis are peritonitis, leakages, hernias, catheter dislocation, and loss of ultrafiltration. We describe 3 cases of abdominal pseudocysts with progressive difficulty instilling and draining peritoneal dialysis fluid. The 3 patients had been treated with peritoneal dialysis for 1, 2, and 6 years. Two patients had experienced previous episodes of peritonitis and 1 had signs of peritonitis when the pseudocyst was first detected. In all 3 patients, ultrasound and computed tomographic scans, obtained because of progressive decreases in solute clearance, showed dialysate entrapped in a cyst that enclosed the inner tip of the Tenckhoff catheter. The cyst was resected in 2 patients, and the Tenckhoff catheter was removed in 1 patient. Histologic samples were not suggestive of encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis. Abdominal pseudocysts are a rare complication after peritoneal dialysis therapy, but are reported in 1% of patients with ventriculoperitoneal shunts. The outcome of our described patients was good, although they had to be switched to hemodialysis therapy.