Protein losses and tobramycin absorption in peritonitis treated by hourly peritoneal dialysis.

The effects of peritonitis on dialysate protein losses of IgG, IgA, IgM, transferrin, and complement were investigated. Thirteen patients who developed peritonitis while undergoing peritoneal dialysis were compared with seven noninfected dialysis patients. Dialysate protein losses increased during peritonitis, but IgG, IgA, IgM, transferrin, and complement losses did not. The ratio of the amount of these proteins to the total amount of protein, measured by trichloroacetic acid precipitation, was unaltered by peritonitis, suggesting that albumin is the predominant protein lost during peritonitis. The infected patients absorbed 55% of the administered dose of tobramycin, at 17 mL/min, and the noninfected 44%, at 13 mL/min.