title: [Thirty years experience of treatment with peritoneal dialysis in University Hospital "Sveti Duh"].
abstract: Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is a treatment for patients with severe chronic kidney disease (CKD) which uses the patient's peritoneum as a membrane across which fluids and dissolved substances are exchanged from the blood. Implementation of this method begun in the seventies, with approximately 7000 patients treated in the year 1981. That same year, we started using this method in our center and to date we have a total of 167 patients. Years of experience and improvement of the technique made this method equivalent to hemodialysis and often even a first method of choice when treating patients with CKD. Data from all patients treated in our center were prospectively collected from year 1981 to 2010. A total of 167 patients (83 women and 84 men) between the ages 28 and 79 (median of 59) were treated by this method. The number of patients enrolled in the program of PD decreased from 64 in the first 10 year period (1981-1990) to 40 in the last 10 year period (2001-2010). 30-year average of PD treatment was 34 months (range from 1 to 110 months). Average duration of treatment per patient increased during the years up to 42 months per patient. The most common reason for termination of PD treatment was fatal outcome (48%), failure of peritoneal membrane (35%) and kidney transplantation (2.4%). Overall rate of peritonitis during the observed peritonitis was 1 every 15 months of treatment. Comparing the rates of peritonitis between the first and the last ten year period, a significant decrease from 1 every 10 months to 1 every 39 months was observed. Overall share of patients with diabetes was 19%. The total number of diabetic patients increased during years according to the increasing rates of diabetic patients worldwide. The decrease in number of patients enrolled in the program in our center is probably due to further development of transplantation program and opening of new dialysis centers in Croatia. The decrease of the peritonitis rate and consequent increase of duration of PD treatment per patient is explained by the improvement of techniques, solutions and better education of the patients and medical staff. 30 years of existence the Centre enabled us to gain experience in treating patients with CKD. Along with experience came the improvement of quality of life of our patients. Our goal is to further develop PD as it is the method of choice in terms of better physical and psychical rehabilitation of the patient with CKD waiting for the transplantation treatment.
authors.affiliation: University Hospital "Sveti Duh", Department of Nephrology and Dialysis, Zagreb, Croatia. helenaziv@net.hr
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jurina
authors.forename: Luka
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vrbanić
authors.forename: Nikola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Janković
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010530:Peritoneal Dialysis / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data