Peritoneal Dialysis in a Patient with Acute Kidney Injury, Thrombocytopenia, Urosepsis, and Liver Cirrhosis: A Case Report.

BACKGROUND We present the possibility of successful peritoneal dialysis (PD) treatment in acute kidney injury (AKI) patients with multiple comorbidities. CASE REPORT A 60-year-old woman with chronic kidney disease (CKD, stage G3b), liver cirrhosis (Child-Pugh class A score), and thrombocytopenia developed AKI due to urosepsis. Laboratory tests showed serum creatinine 430.5 µmol/L, urea 44.0 mmol/L, potassium 5.7 mmol/L, C-reactive protein 208 mg/L, procalcitonin 8 ng/mL, platelets 14×109/L, hemoglobin 5.83 mmol/L, and albumin 30 g/L. Due to hemodynamic instability with profound hypotension and the potentially high bleeding risk when doing central venous catheter insertion or using anticoagulants, PD was selected as the AKI treatment. The PD catheter was implanted by the surgical method after the transfusion of platelet concentrate. Automated PD in tidal mode was implemented using 1.5% and 2.3% glucose: basic inflow volume 1200 mL and a tidal volume of 700 mL. Effective dialysis with ultrafiltration up to 1200 mL/day was achieved. The patient was discharged home in good condition. After 1 month, PD was discontinued due to the renal function returning to its pre-septic state of CKD category G3b. The PD catheter was removed 3 weeks later. CONCLUSIONS PD can be an effective method for AKI treatment in patients with sepsis, hemodynamic instability, thrombocytopenia, and liver cirrhosis.

Current epidemiology and practice patterns in prevention and treatment of PD-related infections in Poland.

BACKGROUND: Peritoneal dialysis (PD) related infections are associated with technique failure and mortality. The aim of this multicentre study was to examine epidemiology, treatment and outcomes of PD-related infections in Poland as well as practice patterns for prevention of these complications in the context of current ISPD recommendations. METHODS: A survey on PD practices in relation to infectious complications was conducted in 11 large Polish PD centres. Epidemiology of peritonitis and exit-site infections (ESI) was examined in all patients treated in these units over a 2 year period. RESULTS: The study included data on 559 PD patients with 62.4% on CAPD. Practice patterns for prevention of infectious complications are presented. The rate of peritonitis was 0.29 episodes per year at risk, with Gram positive microorganisms responsible for more than 50% of infections and 85.8% effectively treated. Diagnosis and treatment followed ISPD guidelines however most units did not provide an anti-fungal prophylaxis. Although neither of the centres reported routine topical mupirocin on catheter exit-site, the rate of ESI was low (0.1 episodes per year at risk), with Staphylococcus aureus as most common pathogen and full recovery in 78.3% of cases. CONCLUSION: The study shows rewarding outcomes in prevention and treatment of PD-associated infections, mainly due to a thorough compliance with the current ISPD guidelines, although some deviations from the recommendations in terms of practice patterns have been observed. More studies are needed in large numbers of patients to differentiate the importance of specific recommendations and further support the guidelines.

Serum cardiac troponin T and effective blood flow in stable extracorporeal dialysis patients.

PURPOSE: We examined the association between extracorporeal dialysis (ED)-related effective blood flow (eQB) and serum cardiac troponin T (cTnT) as a possible indicator of silent myocardial damage in stable ED patients. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study, cTnT was determined in 247 ED patients dialyzed using stable eQB and dialysate flow (QD). In a prospective study, 91 patients were switched from low-flux (LF) to high-flux (HF) hemodialysis (HD), and subsequently, the eQB increased, and the QD decreased; 65 patients continued LF-HD with stable eQB and QD. Clinical/laboratory evaluations were performed at 0, 15, 36, and 53 weeks from the start of the study. RESULTS: In the cross-sectional study, the main cTnT predictors were dialysis vintage, age, eQB, phosphorus, and C-reactive protein. Patients with cTnT levels in the highest quartile were excluded from the analysis, and subjects dialyzed with eQB ≤316 ml/min exhibited lower cTnT levels compared with patients dialyzed with higher eQB (P = 0.002). The all-cause and cardiac mortality rates of 154 patients, without changes in ED modality for up to 42 months, were associated with the initial cTnT concentrations but not with the initial eQB. In the prospective study, higher values for eQB and cTnT were observed during HF-HD at weeks 36 (P = 0.045) and 53 (P = 0.01) of the present study. The initial cTnT, ∆eQB, and ∆albumin influenced the ∆cTnT. The all-cause and cardiac mortality rates were not different between LF and HF groups at 21 months after the prospective study was completed. CONCLUSION: In stable ED patients, higher eQB rates and QB/QD values might contribute to silent myocardial injury, particularly in patients with lower cTnT levels, but do not affect the outcome of ED patients.