Severe infections in peritoneal dialysis and home hemodialysis patients: An inception cohort study

Infections are the most common non-cardiovascular cause of death among dialysis patients. Earlier studies have shown similar or higher risk of infectious complications in peritoneal dialysis (PD) compared to hemodialysis (HD) patients, but comparisons to home HD patients have been rare. We investigated the risk of severe infections after start of continuous ambulatory PD (CAPD) and automated PD (APD) as compared to home HD.

All adult patients (n = 536), who were on home dialysis at day 90 from starting kidney replacement therapy (KRT) between 2004 and 2017 in Helsinki healthcare district, were included. We defined severe infection as an infection with C-reactive protein of 100 mg/l or higher. Cumulative incidence of first severe infection was assessed considering death as a competing risk. Hazard ratios were estimated using Cox regression with propensity score adjustment.

The risk of getting a severe infection during the first year of dialysis was 35% for CAPD, 25% for APD and 11% for home HD patients. During five years of follow-up, the hazard ratio of severe infection was 2.8 [95% CI 1.6-4.8] for CAPD and 2.2 [95% CI 1.4-3.5] for APD in comparison to home HD. Incidence rate of severe infections per 1000 patient-years was 537 for CAPD, 371 for APD, and 197 for home HD patients. When excluding peritonitis, the incidence rate was not higher among PD than home HD patients.

CAPD and APD patients had higher risk of severe infections than home HD patients. This was explained by PD-associated peritonitis.