Infection rates in end-stage renal disease patients treated with CCPD and CAPD using the UltraBag system

Previous studies have shown the incidence of peritonitis to be generally lower for patients performing continuous cycling peritoneal dialysis (CCPD) than patients maintained on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). Recent changes in CAPD techniques, particularly the introduction of the UltraBag system, have resulted in a marked decrease in peritonitis rates in CAPD patients. The purpose of the present study was to compare peritoneal dialysis-related infections in 73 patients treated with CCPD and 57 patients treated with CAPD using the UltraBag system for a 12-month period. Demographic data of the two groups were comparable. Peritonitis rates were significantly lower in the patients treated with CAPD on the UltraBag (one infection/23 patient-months) than in patients treated with CCPD (one infection/14.4 patient-months, p < 0.05). Exit-site infections were also significantly lower in patients treated with CAPD (one episode/35 patient-months) compared to patients treated with CCPD (one episode/11.5 patient-months, p < 0.05). The spectrum of organisms causing infection was similar in both groups of patients. The study suggests that peritonitis and exit-site infections are significantly less common in patients treated with CAPD with the UltraBag system than in patients treated with CCPD.