Peritoneal Dialysis Catheter Revision and Replacement by Nephrologist for Peritoneal Dialysis Catheter Malfunction

Catheter malfunction is an important cause of technique failure for peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients, and is commonly managed by surgeons or intervention radiologists. We reviewed our experience in catheter revision or replacement by nephrologists.

We reviewed the clinical outcome and complication rate of 95 consecutive patients who had PD catheter malfunction, with catheter revision or replacement by nephrologist.

Amongst the 95 patients, 32 had catheter revision, 24 catheter replacement via the original wound, and 39 catheter replacement via a new mini-laparotomy wound. Catheter survival was 71.6% at 1 month and 48.4% at 6 months; technique survival was 88.4% at 1 month and 77.4% at 6 months. When the 3 types of procedure were analyzed separately, technique survival at 1 month was 96.8, 75.0, and 89.7%, respectively, for patients who received catheter revision, catheter replacement via the original wound, and catheter replacement via a new mini-laparotomy wound (p = 0.0002), although their catheter survival rates were not significantly different. Also, 2 patients had bleeding that required urgent surgical exploration, 2 had wound infection, and 8 had peritonitis within 4 weeks after the surgery.

PD catheter revision and replacement by nephrologist has an acceptable catheter survival and a reasonable complication rate. Given that prompt intervention is an important consideration, catheter revision and replacement by nephrologist is a suitable method for the management of catheter malfunction.