Risk Factors Associated with Nosocomial Peritonitis in Children on Peritoneal Dialysis

Peritoneal dialysis is the most frequent dialysis method in children, and peritonitis is a frequent complication. The responsible organisms differ between nosocomial and community acquired peritonitis, they cause longer hospitalization time, and can lead to dialysis failure.

The aim of the study was to describe the risk factors associated with nosocomial peritonitis in children with end-stage renal disease undergoing dialysis treatment.

A nested case-control study was conducted in an academic medical center.

The basic cohort included all pediatric patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis therapy and who were hospitalized for non-infectious causes during the study period, January 2008 to December 2009. Cases were subjects who developed nosocomial peritonitis during hospitalization, and controls were children free of nosocomial peritonitis. The final groups consisted of 10 cases and 35 controls.

There were 11 episodes of nosocomial peritonitis in 10 subjects (incidence rate, 6.6 cases per year of hospitalization). By multiple logistic regression analysis, the presence of congenital abnormalities of the kidney and urinary tract was the only risk factor significantly associated with nosocomial peritonitis (OR: 11.54; 95% CI: 1.86-71.59).

Congenital abnormality of the kidney and urinary tract was a significant risk factor for nosocomial peritonitis in pediatric patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing peritoneal dialysis.