Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis: no longer experimental

Many patients with end-stage renal disease have now been maintained for 5 years or more with continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). Viewed initially as an experimental alternative to be used only when hemodialysis was not feasible, CAPD is now seen as the treatment of choice in an increasing number of situations. CAPD is suitable for self-care. The main concern in the early years--peritonitis--is now less frightening and less frequent (one episode occurring every 18 patient-months as compared with every 8 initially), and this has allowed chronic complications of CAPD, such as malnutrition and loss of the peritoneum's capacity for ultrafiltration, to come to light. As would be expected, among patients of advanced age and those who have heart disease or diabetes, survival rates tend to be lower than among other CAPD patients. However, hypertension seems to be more easily controlled, pre-existing anemia can be significantly ameliorated, and young children grow more normally than they do with hemodialysis. Diabetes-related changes in vision stabilize in most CAPD patients, and control of the blood glucose level is good; insulin is administered intraperitoneally. CAPD is thus showing itself to be a feasible form of long-term treatment for end-stage renal disease.