Mechanical complications in chronic peritoneal dialysis.
BACKGROUND
A significant number of complications and catheter failures in CAPD are due to mechanical problems.


METHODS
We reviewed 105 consecutive peritoneal dialysis catheters, generally implanted by blind insertion technique, in 80 patients over an 11-year period. 137 mechanical problems were collected and classified according to their etiologies into the following: those related to the insertion procedure (n = 21; 15.3%), those related to the presence of dialysate in peritoneum (n = 33; 24%), catheter-related malfunction (n = 28; 20.4%), secondaries to abdominal events (n = 3; 0.2%), catheter accidents (n = 37; 26.2%) and others (n = 15; 11%).


RESULTS
Removal of the catheter was performed in 86 of 105 catheters: mechanical complications accounted for 19 of them (21.8%) and 9 patients were definitively transferred to hemodialysis due to this problem. The most frequent complications were catheter accidents, although only a few of them required catheter removal.


CONCLUSIONS
The majority of the catheter removals were due to catheter displacement (31.5%), this problem being more frequent in straight than in Swan Neck catheters.
Moreiras Plaza
M
M
Department of Nephrology, Xeral-Cíes Hospital, Vigo, Spain.
Cuíña
L
L
Goyanes
G R
GR
Sobrado
J A
JA
Gonzalez
L
L
D000059:Accidents; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002408:Catheters, Indwelling / Q000009:adverse effects; D002648:Child; D015314:Dialysis Solutions / Q000009:adverse effects; D004867:Equipment Design; D004868:Equipment Failure; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D000071938:Fasciotomy; D005260:Female; D005548:Foreign-Body Migration / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010529:Peritoneal Cavity; D010531:Peritoneal Dialysis, Continuous Ambulatory / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D010537:Peritoneum / Q000601:surgery; D017568:Rectus Abdominis / Q000601:surgery; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D013499:Surface Properties
D015314:Dialysis Solutions