[Peritoneal dialysis in cirrhotic patients]. / La dialisi peritoneale nei pazienti con cirrosi epatica.

ABSTRACT

Renal failure and the need for dialysis worsen the prognosis of patients with combined liver and kidney disease. The choice of an appropriate dialysis technique should improve the life expectancy of these patients. Hypotension, impaired defence against infections, electrolyte and acid-base imbalance, severe protein and caloric malnutrition, hyperammonemia, hyperbilirubinemia, and inadequate response to diuretics present a number of clinical problems in patients with liver insufficiency. Liver failure is therefore considered an important risk factor for any type of dialysis. Theoretically, both hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis may cause specific problems in these patients. Hemodialysis has an increased cost/benefit ratio in cirrhotic patients. The administration of heparin during dialysis might worsen blood coagulation, ascites is not controlled by hemodialysis, and frequent paracentesis may be necessary. The efficiency of hemodialysis in removing certain toxic substances accumulating in liver failure is still unclear. Peritoneal dialysis does not require anticoagulation, helps maintain residual renal function, allows continuous removal of a fixed amount of ascitic fluid, does not cause acute hemodynamic changes, clears some of the toxic metabolites accumulated by liver failure, and is less expensive. Finally, peritoneal dialysis is associated with continuous absorption of glucose through the mesenteric capillaries into the mesenteric and liver blood flow, thus improving caloric malnutrition. During the first months of peritoneal dialysis, cirrhotic patients lose about 10 g of protein in the peritoneal dialysate but this loss tends to decrease with time. All the available data seem to indicate that in cirrhotic patients on peritoneal dialysis the majority of complications are consequent upon liver disease, which is also the most important cause of death. The outcome of peritoneal dialysis is not affected by cirrhosis and is similar to that observed in noncirrhotic patients. All the evidence reported in the literature seems to indicate that in cirrhotic patients peritoneal dialysis is an adequate treatment of uremia.