Stability of the peritoneal membrane in long-term peritoneal dialysis patients

One of main challenges of peritoneal dialysis (PD) is the functional and vital long-term stability of the peritoneal membrane. Few longitudinal and controlled studies on peritoneal function have been published, and the results are somewhat contradictory. We have performed a longitudinal study with 90 patients. The overall analysis has shown that creatinine mass transfer coefficient (MTC) significantly increases and ultrafiltration (UF) capacity decreases over time. Nevertheless, urea MTC remained unaltered and MTC ratios significantly decreased after the third year. Subsequently, we examined the clinical outcomes and identified 19 patients who required peritoneal resting periods for Type I UF failure and 71 patients who did not require such a procedure. The latter patients did not show any significant functional change over time, whereas the former 19 patients showed an increase of peritoneal creatinine transport and a loss of UF capacity. These data corroborate changes in long-term peritoneal function in approximately 20% of PD patients. These changes consist of an increase in effective exchange area, peritoneal permeability, or both, accompanied by signs suggestive of mesothelial regenerative capacity loss. Infectious peritoneal injuries, especially appearing during late PD periods, are deleterious to the peritoneum. The remainder of the functional-structural changes are related to the effects of currently used dialysate. Early diagnosis, preemptive, and therapeutic measures should permit better management of long-term PD patients. The particular response to these injuries has individual characteristics that when addressed permit PD to be used long-term.