Renal replacement therapy in elderly patients: peritoneal dialysis

Management of chronic uremia in elderly patients presents several clinic and organizational difficulties. Hemodialysis (HD) and chronic peritoneal dialysis (CPD) are both available for the elderly, and the choice depends on the individual, clinical and familial conditions. Several reports have compared the outcomes for older patients treated by HD or peritoneal dialysis, with those for younger or older patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis. CPD is a successful dialysis option for elderly patients, in both patient and technique survival terms. All nutritional parameters are of pivotal importance. Several barriers, such as medical and social factors, physician bias, late referral and education irrespective of the needs of older patients, influence the choice of CPD. The development of assisted peritoneal dialysis, using community-based nurses or health care assistants, can overcome some of the barriers and enable frail older patients to have home-based dialysis treatment. Increasing age is associated with higher peritonitis rates among patients who started CPD in the 1990s, while age is not associated with peritonitis in more recent CPD cohorts, and no greater frequency of adverse outcomes of peritonitis has been seen among those who began CPD after the year 2000. In elderly dialysis patients, the management of quality of life (QOL) is important as well as adequacy of dialysis, nutritional status and survival rate. To obtain a good standard of QOL, it is essential to select carers who are properly educated and who can access an adequate support system, both physical and psychological, to help them cope with their burden.