Incidence and outcome of encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis

Studies report variation in the incidence and outcomes of encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis (EPS). This study reports the incidence and outcome of EPS cases in a national cohort of peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients.

The incident cohort of adult patients who started PD between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2007 in Scotland (n = 1238) was identified from the Scottish Renal Registry. All renal units in Scotland identified potential EPS cases diagnosed from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2014, by which point all patients had a minimum of 7 years follow-up from start of PD.

By 31 December 2014, 35 EPS cases were diagnosed in the 1238 patient cohort: an overall incidence of 2.8%. The incidence for subgroups with longer PD duration rises exponentially: 1.1% by 1 year, 3.4% by 3 years, 8.8% at 4 years, 9.4% at 5 years and 22.2% by 7 years. Outcomes are poor with mortality of 57.1% by 1 year after diagnosis. Survival analysis demonstrates an initial above-average survival in patients who later develop EPS, which plummets to well below average after EPS diagnosis.

The incidence of EPS is reassuringly low provided PD exposure is not prolonged and this supports ongoing use of PD. However, continuing PD beyond 3 years results in an exponential rise in the risk of developing EPS and deciding whether this risk is acceptable should be made on an individual patient basis.