Peritonitis-related Deaths among CAPD Patients

In 18 deaths related to peritonitis in CAPD patients over the period 1977 to 1982, the main clinical features included persistent low-grade fever and leukocytosis, with or without abdominal symptoms and signs. These deaths were not prevented by catheter removal, laparotomy with surgical drainage and prolonged antibiotic therapy. Conventional imaging techniques such as ultrasound, CA T scan and Gallium scans may not detect intra-abdominal abscesses in such patients. In this series the risk of dying during a peritonitis episode was 2.3%, namely one death for each 480 patient months of experience: it remained unchanged over the five year period of the study.