Risk factors and outcomes of high peritonitis rate in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis patients: A retrospective study

Peritonitis remains a major complication of peritoneal dialysis (PD). A high peritonitis rate (HPR) affects continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients’ technique survival and mortality. Predictors and outcomes of HPR, rather than the first peritonitis episode, were rarely studied in the Chinese population. In this study, we examined the risk factors associated with HPR and its effects on clinical outcomes in CAPD patients. This is a single center, retrospective, observational cohort study. A total of 294 patients who developing at least 1 episode of peritonitis were followed up from March 1st, 2002, to July 31, 2014, in our PD center. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine the factors associated with HPR, and the Cox proportional hazard model was conducted to assess the effects of HPR on clinical outcomes. During the study period of 2917.5 patient-years, 489 episodes of peritonitis were recorded, and the total peritonitis rate was 0.168 episodes per patient-year. The multivariate analysis showed that factors associated with HPR include a quick occurrence of peritonitis after CAPD initiation (shorter than 12 months), and a low serum albumin level at the start of CAPD. In the Cox proportional hazard model, HPR was a significant predictor of technique failure. There were no differences between HPR and low peritonitis rate (LPR) group for all-cause mortality. However, when the peritonitis rate was considered as a continuous variable, a positive correlation was observed between the peritonitis rate and mortality. We found the quick peritonitis occurrence after CAPD and the low serum albumin level before CAPD were strongly associated with an HPR. Also, our results verified that HPR was positively correlated with technique failure. More importantly, the increase in the peritonitis rate suggested a higher risk of all-cause mortality. These results may help to identify and target patients who are at higher risk of HPR at the start of CAPD and to take interventions to reduce peritonitis incidence and improve clinical outcomes.