Marriott J, Cartnel L, McQuie J, Williams P
Can an elevated intraperitoneal pressure predict PD complications?
17th Annual CAPD Conference
Perit Dial Int Suppl 1 (Feb) 17:S64 1997

High volume CAPD with 2.5 litre exchanges is becoming increasingly popular. Known complications are poor tolerance and hernia formation. The authors question whether there is a relationship between measured intraperitoneal pressure -IPP- (as measured by the method of B. Mathieu, 1994) and the occurrence of hernia or dialysate leaks.

From 33 patients with a mean CAPD treatment time of 27 months IPP was measured and follow-up showed that 9 of them had an IPP > 17 cm water. 7 patients in this group developed hernias or dialysate leaks. From the 24 patients with IPP < 17 cm of water only 3 developed such problems. There was a significant increase in IPP with increasing body weight. The authors conclude that IPP may predict abdominal complications and that larger patients have a paradoxically higher IPP than smaller patients. They state that high volume CAPD should only be prescribed if IPP can be monitored.

Comment: This very interesting study, although performed in a small subset of patients gives conflicting results, if compared to larger clinical trials like the one by Afthentopoulos I.E. et al, presented at this same congress. Further study of this subject is warranted, especially since these complications lead to an important technical failure drop-out. (Johan Rosman M.D., The Hague, Netherlands)

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17th Annual CAPD Conference
Basic peritoneal dialysis : Complications of PD