Noninfectious Complications of Peritoneal Dialysis in Korean Children: A 26-Year Single-Center Study

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate noninfectious complications of peritoneal dialysis (PD), including mechanical and metabolic complications, at a single center in Korea. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed data from 60 PD patients aged ≤18 years (40 boys and 20 girls) during the period between 1986 and 2012. The collected data included gender, age, causes of PD, incidence of noninfectious complications, and treatment for the complications. RESULTS: The mean duration of PD therapy was 28.7±42.1 months (range 1-240 months). The most common cause of end-stage renal disease was glomerular disease (43.3%). There were no statistically significant differences between patients with and without mechanical complications regarding gender, age at the start of PD, and total duration of PD. Outflow failure was the most common catheter-related complication (14.3%), followed by leakage (10.0%) and hernia (8.6%). Metabolic complications, such as hyperglycemia and hypokalemia, were observed in three of 16 patients. The frequency of noninfectious complications of PD in our study was comparable with those in previous pediatric studies. PD was switched to hemodialysis (HD) in only three patients. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that noninfectious complications of PD are common, though they hardly lead to catheter removal or HD in pediatric patients on PD.