Peritoneal Dialysis in Chronic Renal Failure

The long-term results of intermittent peritoneal dialysis in long-term treatment of renal disease have yet to equal those of intermittent hemodialysis. However, further exploration and refinement of this technique is justified.Performed in acute stages of disease, both peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis relieve the symptoms of uremia and specifically “buy time” for the patient so that proper medical or surgical therapy may be instituted. In acute situations, peritoneal dialysis is the procedure of choice, and is an important adjunct to more conventional treatment for chronic renal disease. It may be useful sometimes even in chronically hemodialyzed patients—for example, when the hemodialysis cannula for one reason or another is inaccessible because of clots, replacement, or infection. It is especially valuable when the hemorrhagic complications of uremia contraindicate hemodialysis treatment.Its use in chronic uremia remains sharply limited in time, but for brief periods chronic peritoneal dialysis appears to be a reasonably satisfactory means of prolonging life while awaiting homotransplant or decision for maintenance hemodialysis therapy.     

Peritoneal Dialysis in Acute and Chronic Renal Failure

Clinical experience with peritoneal dialysis in eight cases of acute and four cases of chronic renal failure is presented. Seven of the acute cases survived but in some of these hemodialysis was also employed. The relatively simple technique of peritoneal dialysis was found to be effective, although slower than hemodialysis. In three of the cases it was selected in preference to hemodialysis. Its main advantages are that it does not require elaborate arrangements, or the use of blood or anticoagulants. The authors conclude that when the peritoneum is intact the method can be employed whenever the use of a temporary kidney substitute is indicated.     

Gas Exchange in Renal Failure: II—Pulmonary Gas Exchange during Peritoneal Dialysis

Blood gas analysis studies have been made in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis. It has been shown that oxygen tensions are reduced when fluid has been run into the peritoneal cavity and that this fall in Pao₂ is reversed after running out the dialysate. The change in Pao₂ is greater with 2-litre than with 1-litre cycles.     

Chronic Hemodialysis for Terminal Renal Failure

Ten terminal uremic patients seen over the period of one and one-half years have been kept alive by repeated hemodialysis using a modification of the Seattle system, carried out for the most part by nurses and technicians. All the patients had creatinine clearance values below 5 ml./min., and blood urea nitrogen values which ranged between 156 and 453 mg. % before beginning the first dialysis.Selection was based on their ability to co-operate with and to tolerate the regimen. Nine patients were fully rehabilitated.The major complications were those related to shunt-site infections, including septicemia, bacterial endocarditis, septic arthritis, septic pulmonary embolism and mycotic aneurysm.Nevertheless, all patients except one were rehabilitated and resumed their full-time occupations and have continued to lead happy and useful lives.     

Intermittent Hemodialysis in Terminal Chronic Renal Failure

Seven patients with chronic renal failure underwent intermittent hemodialysis for five to 37 months (111 patient-months on a twice-weekly basis) employing arteriovenous Teflon-Silastic cannulas and the modified two-layer Kiil hemodialyzer. A single-pass 37° C. dialysate system has been used. One patient died of an indirectly related cause. All other patients have been successfully rehabilitated and now carry on normal activity of moderate sedentary type. Complications included recurring infection and clotting of arteriovenous cannulas. Hypertension and anemia were common complications requiring careful control. Peripheral neuropathy was noted in five of the seven patients but was of clinical significance in only one patient. Metastatic calcification, osteoporosis and urolithiasis also occurred in this patient. Peptic ulcers with hemorrhage developed in two patients. The degree of rehabilitation and psychological adjustment achieved by this group of patients strongly indicates the need for expansion of dialysis facilities and further research into the medical and economic aspects of dialysis.     

乳清蛋白质制剂改善慢性肾功能衰竭透析患者营养状况的效果观察

目的用乳清蛋白质制剂作为蛋白质补充营养制剂,观察其对慢性肾功能衰竭透析患者营养改善的效果。方法 60例接受透析治疗的慢性肾功能衰竭患者,平均年龄(59.3±6.7)岁,随机分为试验组和对照组,每组30例。试验组每天除常规饮食外,按0.6g/kg补充乳清蛋白质制剂,共15 d,对照组为正常治疗饮食。在干预前、后分别检测营养相关的指标。结果根据身高和体重进行营养评价,干预开始前试验组、对照组的患者均有不同程度营养不良,15 d后体重与干预前相比,虽有所改善,但无显著性差异(P>0.05)。体重、上臂肌围、三头肌皮褶厚度在干预后变化均不明显,无显著性差异(P>0.05)。血红蛋白有所升高,但无统计学意义(P>0.05)。干预前后,试验组血清白蛋白、前白蛋白均有升高,前白蛋白与对照组相比有显著性差异(P<0.05)。干预后试验组血清磷与对照组比较无显著性差异(P>0.05)。试验组和对照组血清尿素氮、肌酐在干预后,均降低非常显著(P<0.05)。干预前患者血清氨基酸,特别是必需氨基酸和组氨酸含量降低明显(P<0.05),用乳清蛋白质制剂后血清氨基酸谱有所变化,支链氨基酸-亮氨酸、异亮氨酸和缬氨酸含量明显增高,苏氨酸、酪氨酸、组氨酸也有所升高,其余氨基酸血清含量无明显改变。结论乳清蛋白质制剂对慢性肾功能衰竭透析患者有明显的改善蛋白质营养状况的效果。     

Use of Diazoxide in Hypertension with Renal Failure

Treatment with intravenous and oral diazoxide was given to a group of 39 patients suffering from severe drug-resistant hypertension associated with renal impairment. Rapid initial and good long-term control of hypertension was achieved in all cases without the production of clinically significant postural hypotension. The side effects of diazoxide, including its diabetogenic effect, were easily controlled. There was a highly significant improvement in renal function in most patients on long-term oral diazoxide therapy.Diazoxide may have an important place in both the short- and long-term therapy of resistant hypertension, particularly in association with renal damage.     

Prophylactic Antibiotics for Endoscopy-Associated Peritonitis in Peritoneal Dialysis Patients

Introduction

Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) peritonitis may develop after endoscopic procedures, and the benefit of prophylactic antibiotics is unclear. In the present study, we investigated whether prophylactic antibiotics reduce the incidence of peritonitis in these patients.

Patients and methods

We retrospectively reviewed all endoscopic procedures, including esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD), colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, cystoscopy, hysteroscopy, and hysteroscopy-assisted intrauterine device (IUD) implantation/removal, performed in CAPD patients at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan, between February 2001 and February 2012.

Results

Four hundred and thirty-three patients were enrolled, and 125 endoscopies were performed in 45 patients. Eight (6.4%) peritonitis episodes developed after the examination. Antibiotics were used in 26 procedures, and none of the patients had peritonitis (0% vs. 8.1% without antibiotic use; p = 0.20). The peritonitis rate was significantly higher in the non-EGD group than in the EGD group (15.9% [7/44] vs. 1.2% [1/81]; p<0.005). Antibiotic use prior to non-EGD examinations significantly reduced the endoscopy-associated peritonitis rate compared to that without antibiotic use (0% [0/16] vs. 25% [7/28]; p<0.05). Peritonitis only occurred if invasive procedures were performed, such as biopsy, polypectomy, or IUD implantation, (noninvasive procedures, 0% [0/20] vs. invasive procedures, 30.4% [7/23]; p<0.05). No peritonitis was noted if antibiotics were used prior to examination with invasive procedures (0% [0/10] vs. 53.8% [7/13] without antibiotic use; p<0.05). Although not statistically significant, antibiotics may play a role in preventing gynecologic procedure-related peritonitis (antibiotics, 0% [0/4] vs. no antibiotics, 55.6% [5/9]; p = 0.10).

Conclusion

Antibiotic prophylaxis significantly reduced endoscopy-associated PD peritonitis in the non-EGD group. Endoscopically assisted invasive procedures, such as biopsy, polypectomy, IUD implantation/removal, and dilatation and curettage (D&C), pose a high risk for peritonitis. Prophylactic antibiotics for peritonitis prevention may be required in colonoscopic procedures and gynecologic procedures.     

A Clinical Evaluation of Peritoneal Dialysis

A total of 18 peritoneal dialyses were performed on 14 patients at the Hamilton Civic Hospital over a period of 11 months. Nine of these patients were in uremia, four had non-nephrotoxic intoxication, and one had hepatic coma. Patients with chronic uremia may present with acute renal failure which may be treated by peritoneal dialysis with resultant significant prolongation of life. A decreased mortality rate might be expected in acute renal failure if dialysis is implemented before the classical picture of uremia develops. Many non-nephrotoxic intoxicating substances are readily dialysable. Considerable benefit to the patient and decreased time in hospital may result from the use of this procedure in cases of intoxication with such substances. Peritoneal dialysis may be of value in treatment of intractable congestive heart failure. This procedure may eventually provide another means of treating hepatic coma.     

Serum Folate and Vitamine B12 Levels in Acute and Chronic Renal Disease. Effect of Peritoneal Dialysis

Serum folate and vitamin B₁₂ levels have been measured in 32 patients with renal failure. The initial mean serum folate level was raised above normal in seven patients with acute renal failure whereas the mean level in eight patients severely ill from chronic renal failure was significantly lower than normal. Serum folate levels fell during peritoneal dialysis and rose between dialyses in all these patients and also in one patient who was dialysed for acute pancreatitis.The mean serum B₁₂ level was raised in patients with both acute and chronic renal failure, but there was no consistent change in serum B₁₂ level during dialysis.Hypersegmented polymorphs were present in the peripheral blood film of most of the patients with acute or chronic renal failure. Their presence bore no relation to the clinical state, blood urea, serum folate, or serum B₁₂ level of the patients.     

Hemodialysis versus Peritoneal Dialysis: A Comparison of Survival Outcomes in South-East Asian Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease

Background

Studies comparing patient survival of hemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) have yielded conflicting results and no such study was from South-East Asia. This study aimed to compare the survival outcomes of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) who started dialysis with HD and PD in Singapore.

Methods

Survival data for a maximum of 5 years from a single-center cohort of 871 ESRD patients starting dialysis with HD (n = 641) or PD (n = 230) from 2005–2010 was analyzed using the flexible Royston-Parmar (RP) model. The model was also applied to a subsample of 225 propensity-score-matched patient pairs and subgroups defined by age, diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular disease.

Results

After adjusting for the effect of socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, the risk of death was higher in patients initiating dialysis with PD than those initiating dialysis with HD (hazard ratio [HR]: 2.08; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.67–2.59; p<0.001), although there was no significant difference in mortality between the two modalities in the first 12 months of treatment. Consistently, in the matched subsample, patients starting PD had a higher risk of death than those starting HD (HR: 1.73, 95% CI: 1.30–2.28, p<0.001). Subgroup analysis showed that PD may be similar to or better than HD in survival outcomes among young patients (≤65 years old) without diabetes or cardiovascular disease.

Conclusion

ESRD patients who initiated dialysis with HD experienced better survival outcomes than those who initiated dialysis with PD in Singapore, although survival outcomes may not differ between the two dialysis modalities in young and healthier patients. These findings are potentially confounded by selection bias, as patients were not randomized to the two dialysis modalities in this cohort study.     

Evolution of Bone Disease over 10 Years in 135 Patients with Terminal Renal Failure

An objective radiographic study of erosions, fractures, and periarticular and vascular calcification was made in a series of 135 patients over 10 years of maintenance haemodialysis therapy. The four lesions progressed at different rates, consistent with variation in the response of tissues to a changing biochemical milieu and deficiency in vitamin D metabolites. The half time for development of individual radiographic signs was 3·4 years for vascular calcification, 9 years for fractures, 16 years for periarticular calcification, and 22·9 years for erosions. Calcification of the dorsalis pedis artery seen as a developing ring or tube was an early and valuable sign of disturbed calcium metabolism. In these patients renal osteodystrophy is a chronic condition with a prolonged time course.     

Peritoneal Dialysis for the Treatment of Pericarditis in Patients on Chronic Hemodialysis

Three cases of pericarditis with effusion associated with infection and occurring in patients under good biochemical control on hemodialysis are reported. Continuation of hemodialysis, even with regional heparinization, allowed further accumulation of fluid. Peritoneal dialysis was instituted, with subsequent improvement in all three patients. This treatment is recommended in the belief that it hastens the resolution of the condition and may obviate the necessity of establishing permanent or semi-permanent artificial pericardial drainage.     

Hookworm Anemia in a Peritoneal Dialysis Patient in China

Hookworm infections as well as other intestinal nematodiases are endemic in China. In this case, a 70-year-old male showed symptoms of chest tightness, shortness of breath, and both lower extremities edema. The diagnostic result was chronic renal insufficiency, chronic kidney disease (5th stage), and renal anemia at first. Then, he received treatment with traditional drugs. However, this treatment did not help to alleviate the symptoms of the patient significantly. The results of gastroendoscopy showed hookworms in the duodenum, also confirmed by pathology examination. Anemia was markedly ameliorated after eliminating the parasites. The results mentioned above suggested that ancylostomiasis was the leading causes of anemia in this patient, and the etiology of anemia in uremic patients should be systematically considered. Especially when anemia could not be cured by regular treatments, rare diseases should be investigated.