Chronic nightly tidal peritoneal dialysis

Nightly tidal peritoneal dialysis (NTPD) is a technique in which, after an initial fill of the peritoneal cavity, only a portion of dialysate is rapidly cycled. Five anuric, stable, PD patients entered a 4 month study to determine the NTPD session length necessary for clinically adequate dialysis and creatinine clearance similar to those on four daily 2 L CAPD exchanges. NTPD was performed using a modified PAC-X-2 cycler, with the drain phase regulated by a target volume. One patient completed 3.5 months of study, one 4 months, three 6 months, and one patient each continued on NTPD for 13, 14, and 32 months. The mean NTPD session time was 9 hr 24 min (range 8 hr 35 min to 9 hr 55 min) at the end of 4 months. All patients had clinically adequate dialysis. Three patients preferred NTPD over CAPD, particularly because of an empty abdomen during the daytime. One patient required an increase in NTPD time, and an addition of one daytime exchange, because of low creatinine clearance. In conclusion, NTPD provides weekly creatinine clearances comparable to CAPD, with an acceptable duration of nightly dialysis sessions in most anuric patients. A new PD machine providing inexpensive dialysis solution in large quantities, as well as safe and false alarm free dialysis sessions, is needed for practical NTPD implementation.