Hospitalization of peritoneal dialysis patients: the impact of peritonitis episodes on the hospitalization rate

Peritonitis is still a frequent complication in peritoneal dialysis patients. Medical guidelines have been established to manage this infection. These guidelines do not provide any information regarding the requirement for hospitalization. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of peritonitis episode on the hospitalization rate and on the hospitalization duration in a centre where peritoneal dialysis patients were hospitalized in case of peritonitis. This was a retrospective study of incident peritoneal patients over a six years period. Among 101 peritoneal dialysis patients 65% were hospitalized. Two hundred and twenty hospital stays were registered. The total duration of hospital stays was 2091 days. The hospitalization rate was 2 per patient and per year, the hospital duration was 19 days per patient per year. Of the 220 hospital stays, 67 (30%) were due to a peritoneal infection. Peritonitis episodes represent 581/2091 (28%) days of hospitalization. The mean duration of hospitalization for peritonitis was 8.7+/-7 days. Among the patients hospitalized for a peritonitis episode, 57% were assisted by a nurse at home to perform their peritoneal dialysis exchanges. Of the 67 peritonitis episodes, 91% were discharged from the hospital without any complication. This study emphases the fact that peritonitis has an important impact on the hospitalization rate and on the hospitalization duration in peritoneal dialysis patients. In an attempt to decrease the rate of hospitalization, educational programs are clearly needed in order to treat more peritonitis without any hospitalization requirement.