Peritonitis: Complication of Peritoneal Dialysis

Peritonitis is the most common complication of peritoneal dialysis and also the main cause in leading dialysis to fail. Therefore, it is very important for the patients on peritoneal dialysis to know the causes of peritonitis so as to take preventive measures against its occurrence.

Inducements of peritonitis in peritoneal dialysis

1. Pathogenic germs invasion: In the patients on persistent peritoneal dialysis, gram positive bacteria like staphylococcus epidermidis, staphylococcus epidermidis often invade into body leading to infection. The patients on intermittent peritoneal dialysis are often infected by the gram negative bacteria like colibacillus and pseudomonas aeruginosa.

(1) Exogenous infection: The exogenous infection of peritonitis in peritoneal dialysis mainly causing peritonitis through two ways. In one way, peritonitis is caused by improper operation in changing dialysis fluid. In another way, the catheter exit or the tube is infected and the infection involves abdomen causing peritonitis.

(2) The body resistance declines: In normal case, the pathogen invading into abdomen can be cleared away through many ways like the cells immunity and body fluid reaction and so on. However, in the patients on peritoneal dialysis, the dialysis fluid dilutes the concentration of immune substances in their abdomen and damages their normal functions. Moreover, PH of peritoneal dialysis fluid is lower than that in the abdominal cavity thus restraining the resistance ability of abdomen. As a result, the patients on peritoneal dialysis are very likely to have peritonitis.

Once the patients on peritoneal dialysis involve peritonitis, they will have the following clinical symptoms.

Symptoms of peritonitis in peritoneal dialysis

1. Persistent abdomen pain

It is the main symptom of peritonitis in peritoneal dialysis. Especially staphylococcus aureus and gram negative bacilli can case intense pain to the patients. Most of the patients with peritonitis have persistent pain in the whole abdomen. But some only have pain locally in their abdomen.

2. Systemic symptoms

The patients with peritonitis often have shiver, high fever and some are also accompanied by vomit, nausea and other intestinal diseases.

3. Dialysis fluid becomes muddy

When the patients on peritoneal dialysis have peritonitis, they can find their dialysis fluid become muddy when they change it. This symptom is usually the first sigh implying peritonitis.


If the patients on peritoneal dialysis have the above symptoms of peritonitis, they should find what cause it and then receive relative treatment to deal with it.