Peritonitis in Children Undergoing Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis

Abstract

The incidence of peritonitis in 29 children undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis during a 20-mo. period was 1 episode every 12.5 patient-months. Of the 20 episodes of peritonitis, 7 (35%) were treated on an ambulatory basis, and 13 required patient hospitalization. The annualized hospitalization rate for the 29 patients during 252 patient-months was 3.8 days/patient. All patients recovered from peritonitis; the only complication was the need to replace 2 peritoneal catheters. These data would seem to indicate that the potential threat of peritonitis should not curtail continued utilization of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis in children.