This month’s Kidney International “Nephrology Image” features a report by Chen et al in which they describe a PD patient who noted cloudy, deep green dialysate fluid upon drainage of their peritoneum. They also presented with right upper…
In patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis, hydrothorax is defined as the presence of peritoneal dialysate fluid in the pleural cavity. This PD complication has an incidence of high glucose concentration and a variable cell count. Patients diagnosed with a…
Concerning the basics of PD prescription writing–and only the basics, since there’s lots to say about this interesting topic–the minimum prescription should specify the following: 1. What kind of PD does the patient use: for the most part,…
Here are a few important guidelines for prescribing RRT in the Neuro ICU gleaned from this review. First off, a recap of the physiology… Intracranial pressure increases are buffered by CSF, such that increased ICP leads to increased…
It was a close vote that came down to the wire, but there was an ever-so slight preference for peritoneal dialysis modalities (53% CAPD+CCPD) as compared to hemodialysis modalities (47% standard hemo + home hemo) when RFN readers…
In peritoneal dialysis, ultrafiltration failure is defined as the inability of the peritoneal dialysate to maintain euvolemia–and generally speaking, this implies some degree of hypervolemia. Technically, it can occasionally result from trivial explanations–for example, an incorrect PD prescription…
A recent review in this month’s AJKD by Perl and Bargman describes the increasingly recognized importance of residual renal function in dialysis patients’ prognoses. Although the benefits of residual renal function are most obvious in patients undergoing peritoneal…
Adynamic bone disease is being increasingly recognized as the most common form of renal osteodystrophy. It is characterized by the reduced synthesis of bone matrix due to decreased osteoblastic and osteoclastic activity. Adynamic bone disease is distinct from…
The two most common organisms causing PD-related peritonitis are (1) Staph aureus and (2) Pseudomonas. Certainly there are other causes–for instance fungal peritonitis (one of the indications for immediate catheter removal) and coagulase-negative Staph species (which usually responds…
How much peritoneal dialysis is enough? This question has been the basis of two major, landmark trials in the peritoneal dialysis community, the CANUSA study (named as such because it looked at PD patients in Canada and the…
