The following is a summary of “Peritoneal dialysis related peritonitis: insights from a long-term analysis of an Italian center,” published in the May 2024 issue of Nephrology by Nardelli et al.

Peritonitis is a serious issue in peritoneal dialysis (PD), but studies on it have used different definitions and methods, making comparisons difficult.

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to analyze PD-related peritonitis episodes with updated ISPD 2022 guidelines to enable better comparative analysis. 

They included 267 patients who initiated PD at Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico between January 2009 and May 2023. Patients were identified by reviewing the electronic Galenus ® database, and analysis was done using the updated ISPD 2022 definitions and outcomes guidelines, which provided clear definitions and outcomes for PD-related peritonitis.

The results showed that the overall peritonitis rate was 0.25 episodes per patient per year. At one year, 84.2% of patients remained peritonitis-free. The rates of medical cure and refractory peritonitis were 70.3% and 22.4%, respectively. Culture-negative peritonitis made up 25.6% of all cases. Rates of peritonitis-associated death, hemodialysis transfer, catheter removal, and hospitalization were 6.8%, 18.3%, 18.7%, and 64.4%, respectively. Relapsing, repeat, recurrent, and enteric peritonitis accounted for 7.8%, 6.8%, 4.1%, and 2.7% of episodes, respectively. The catheter insertion rate was 4.2%, the catheter-related rate was 2.1%, and the pre-PD peritonitis rate was 0.5%.

Investigators concluded that using standardized definitions and outcome measurements for PD-related peritonitis reports improves clinical practice and enables meaningful comparative studies in the field.

Source: bmcnephrol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12882-024-03594-y