title: Complications of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis.
abstract: Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) is used to treat end-stage renal failure in an increasing number of patients. CAPD has an advantage over hemodialysis in that it allows patients greater freedom to perform daily activities; it also provides other clinical benefits. However, the long-term effectiveness of CAPD is limited by complications, which have various causes. Complications with an infectious cause include bacterial peritonitis, tuberculous peritonitis, and infections of the catheter exit site and tunnel. Noninfectious complications include catheter dysfunction, dialysate leakage, hernias, and sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis. Many imaging modalities-radiography, ultrasonography, peritoneal scintigraphy, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging-are useful for characterizing these complications. CT peritoneography and MR peritoneography are techniques specifically suited to this purpose. Imaging plays a critical role in ensuring that complications are detected early and managed appropriately.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Royal Free Hospital, London, England. sstuart@doctors.org.uk
authors.forename: Sam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stuart
authors.forename: Thomas C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Booth
authors.forename: Charlotte J C
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Cash
authors.forename: Ayshea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hameeduddin
authors.forename: J Antony
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Goode
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Harvey
authors.forename: Anmol
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Malhotra