Peritoneal dialysis in very low and extremely low birthweight infants: A pooled analysis

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) represents an important therapeutic option in neonatal acute kidney injury (AKI), although evidence regarding its effects in preterm neonates remains unclear. The present study aims to evaluate the feasibility of PD in very low birthweight (VLBW) and extremely low birthweight (ELBW) infants and clarify the association of catheter choice with clinical outcomes.

Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, Clinicaltrials.gov and CENTRAL databases were systematically searched from inception to 15 January 2021. Studies reporting individual participant data of VLBW and ELBW infants treated with PD were selected.

Overall, 20 studies were included comprising 101 patients. Catheter-related complications were significantly more frequent among ELBW infants (odds ratio: 5.18, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.23-29.09). After inverse probability treatment weighting, compared to drainage catheters, death risk was significantly lower with the use of PD (hazard ratio: 0.42, 95% CI: 0.19-0.90) but not vascular catheters (hazard ratio: 0.58, 95% CI: 0.28-1.20). Similarly, kidney function loss was significantly lower only with the implementation of PD catheters (hazard ratio: 0.44, 95% CI: 0.21-0.94).

PD is a feasible kidney replacement therapy modality in VLBW and ELBW infants with AKI. The use of drainage catheters may be linked to significantly worse kidney recovery and overall survival rates, compared to PD catheters. Future cohorts should confirm the most appropriate catheter type and contribute to the standardisation of PD procedures.