Preventing PD Peritonitis: What's the Evidence?

Peritoneal dialysis associated peritonitis is the second commonest cause of death among PD patients (35/1000 years) and the most common cause of treatment failure. It confers a CV risk of 7 times normal for 6 months following the bacteremia, so we need to remain ever vigilant when dealing with PD patient, and its worth refreshing our knowledge on how to prevent this feared complication. There is a paucity of high quality evidence for many of the most fundamental questions in PD. Such is the lack of evidence, the International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis (ISPD) have issued a consensus document where they state they are unable to issue formal guidelines.

The best resources I have found on the topic are a Kidney International supplement from 2006, and the ISPD document already mentioned. In the first instance, which patients are at risk of developing peritonitis? The best described risk factors are hypoalbuminemia (similar to the association in haemodialysis patients), Staph aureus  carriage at inception of dialysis (HR 1.53), initiation of PD early after catheter insertion (HR 0.98/day), PD after transplant failure (HR 2.18), lower hemoglobin (HR 0.88/gram/l), faster PD transport rates (HR 2.92) and previous peritonitis. A special risk group to consider are those PD patients undergoing invasive procedures such as endoscopy or IUD insertion. There is evidence that antibiotic prophylaxis using cephalosporins may help reduce peritonitis rates.

The cornerstone of peritonitis prevention is minimizing contamination risk with effective hand washing and immaculate exchange technique. Specialized nurse-led training is key. If peritonitis occurs, retraining and re-education are the most important interventions. Home visits by PD nurses can cut recurrence rates in half, and should be performed where possible. A Cochrane review could find no RCT data to support any particular insertion technique, catheter type, number of cuffs or positioning. It demonstrated that of all catheter-related interventions designed to prevent peritonitis in PD, only disconnect (twin-bag and Y-set) systems have been proved to be effective. Topical antibiotic prophylaxis is a standard of care and there are multiple RCTs demonstrating the efficacy of mupirocin cream application at the exit site. Ointment is to be avoided as it can erode the catheter polymer.  In contrast, nasal mupirocin is more difficult to justify. Cochrane point out that while there is trial data that nasal mupirocin reduces exit-site/tunnel infection, it has no effect on peritonitis rates. Preoperative intravenous prophylaxis reduces early peritonitis but not exit-site/tunnel infection. 

Recent published trials in the area of antimicrobial prophylaxis have been disappointing. They include the Honeypot study, discussed previously on RFN, which demonstrated the application of honey to exit sites approximately doubled the risk of developing peritonitis in diabetic patients. The MP3 study published in JASN in 2012 found polysporin to increase rates of fungal exit site infections without any improvement in primary outcomes of exit site infection or peritonitis. Finally, a special mention goes to cats, who are responsible for at least 25 case reports of pastuerella peritonitis, as well as an assortment of other bugs. Not to be outdone, rodents feature  in the case reports also, coining the term “hamster bite peritonitis” caused by pastuerella aerogenes.

In summary, technique and continuing re-education are of fundamental importance, as are topical antibiotics to prevent exit site infection.  Beyond this, trial data are severely lacking and local opinion and consensus must guide practice.

Authored by Eoin O'Sullivan

Entrapment

An 18 year-old girl with end stage renal disease secondary to focal segmental glomerular sclerosis had a double cuff flex neck peritoneal dialysis (PD) catheter uneventfully inserted in order to begin dialysis. Ten days after this procedure, following successful post-operative catheter flushes, she presented with new, intermittent, sharp, right-sided abdominal pain with catheter flushes. Over the next week, she went on to experience progressive peritoneal filling difficulties that required curtailing planned treatments. She was otherwise asymptomatic and, when not on dialysis, reported feeling well. An abdominal x-ray revealed that her catheter had migrated into the right flank, and her dialysis treatments did not improve after recombinant tissue plasminogen activator or an intensified bowel regimen. Her PD catheter was capped, and she was instructed to present for surgical repositioning of the catheter the following day.

In the operating room, the peritoneal catheter was found to be in the right lower quadrant as expected and initially appeared to be surrounded by only inflamed omental remnants. Further dissection of the omentum away from the catheter, however, revealed multiple dense adhesions, including a small loop of bowel and a markedly inflamed appendix, encircling the PD catheter. These adhesions were lysed, freeing the PD catheter from the appendix. After a pause to discuss these findings with her mother, the surgeon proceeded to perform a previously unplanned appendectomy. The PD catheter was relocated to the pelvis and flushed with ease.

This case highlights a rare but previously documented cause of PD catheter obstruction: appendiceal entrapment. However, this case has a few significant differences from the literature. First, and most notably, the patient’s pathologically-confirmed appendicitis did not present with signs or symptoms consistent with this disease (fever, localized abdominal pain, elevated WBC). Catheter obstruction and malposition were our only clues, and even en route to the OR, both the medical and surgical teams believed this to be a simple case of catheter malposition, perhaps with an element of omental adherence. Second, this case questions the current literature’s suggested management of surgical peritonitis, which centers around catheter removal and dialysis interruption. HS’s catheter was left in, and her pain, catheter flows, and dialysis treatments dramatically improved post-operatively. Perhaps the most important lesson that I take away from this case, though, is to quickly consider the more rare surgical causes of PD catheter obstruction and even peritonitis when conventional medical treatments fail.

Posted by Matt O'Rourke

Green Peritoneal Dialysis Fluid

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 quadrant pain and fever. Peritoneal white cell count was elevated with 84% neutrophils. The diagnosis? Gallstone peritonitis. The patient had a distended gall bladder with multiple pigmented stones; the greenish color is presumably from extravasated bile fluid. The authors make the case that "appearance of green color in the peritoneal dialysate should lead to immediate investigation of the biliary tract in patients with our without abdominal symptoms [as] asymptomatic perforation of the gall bladder has previously been reported."

Peritonitis Bugs

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 rapidly to antibiotic therapy).

As such with suspected peritonitis, before culture results come back, both gram-positive and gram-negative coverage is essential. At our institution (and those with a high rate of MRSA--an ever-increasing problem) the typical cocktail is to give vancomycin plus something for gram-negative coverage--either gentamicin (it's okay and doesn't lead to a significant loss of residual renal function if given as a short course) or ceftazidime typically.
In terms of prophylaxis, an interesting randomized controlled trial (Bernardini et al, JASN 2005) comparing topical gentamicin cream versus mupirocin ointment at the peritoneal catheter exit site was performed. Patients in the gentamicin cream group had a comparable number of gram-positive infections compared to the mupirocin group and a lower rate of gram-negative infections. As a result, gentamicin cream, applied daily, is now recommended as the prophylaxis of choice for peritoneal dialysis patients.