"Black"-Appearing Peritoneal Effluent

When encountering unusually appearing dialysate effluent from a patient doing peri- toneal dialysis, it is important to review the patient's recent exposures. In the case of "black"-appearing dialysate effluent, consideration needs to be given to the possibility of someone having undergone a colonoscopy and having tattooing with India ink. Nephrology nurses are frequently the first to be notified when there has been a change in the character of a patient's peritoneal dialysis dialysate effluent. This article describes a case of "black"-appearing dialysate and includes some of the potential differentials that were considered in the evaluation process. Even though "black"-appearing dialysate is a rare occurrence, nephrology nurses need to be aware of some of the potential etiologies, including exposure to India ink.