Peritoneal Dialysis in the Management of Chronic Renal Failure

Abstract

ALTHOUGH it had been recognized earlier that the peritoneum was a semipermeable membrane, its utilization for dialysis in the treatment of uremia was not described until 1923.^1,2Technical problems and infection prevented popular adoption of peritoneal dialysis for more than 20 years,³although its clinical potentialities were explored.⁴The development of antibiotics and plastic catheters set the stage for Maxwell⁵and Doolan⁶in 1959 to describe simplified procedures for conducting peritoneal dialysis. Peritoneal dialysis has been used primarily in the treatment of acute renal failure. The treatment of chronic renal insufficiency by this method is a more recent development and experience with it is limited.^7-10The purpose of this paper is to report the use of peritoneal dialysis as an adjunct in the management of 54 patients presenting with symptoms due to chronic renal insufficiency and to attempt to assess why certain of these