Predictors for and impact of high peritonitis rate in Taiwanese continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis patients.

Aim: The influence of high peritonitis rate (HPR) on clinical outcomes of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients has been far less studied in the Chinese population than in those of the USA, Australia and Europe. Furthermore, concerning the peritonitis risk, most studies primarily examined the risk of developing the first peritonitis episode, rather than a HPR.

Methods: A single-center, retrospective, observational study was carried out over 10 years in Taiwan. A total of 124 patients with at least one peritonitis episode were the study subjects. The Cox proportional hazard model was used to assess the impact of HPR on clinical outcomes. Multivariate logistic regression was conducted to determine the independent factors associated with a HPR.

Results: In the multivariate Cox regression model, HPR was still a significant predictor for technique failure, patient mortality and dropout from peritoneal dialysis (PD). Factors independently associated with a HPR were peritonitis occurrence during the first year after the start of CAPD and the first peritonitis infected with streptococcus species.

Conclusion: Peritonitis during the first year after PD commencement and the first peritonitis infected by streptococcus species were significantly associated with an increased risk of a HPR. Our data also indicate that HPR was correlated with technique failure, patient mortality and dropout from PD, thus highlighting the need and role of future studies to reduce this complication.