Characterization of an animal model of continuous peritoneal dialysis in chronic renal impairment.

In this study we describe the successful development of a method of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis in a rat with stable chronic uremia. The procedure involved the insertion of a permanent indwelling cannula into the peritoneal cavity through which a draining catheter was passed for each dialysis. Dialysis of uremic animal hosts over a 24-hour period removed 31% of the urea excreted in the urine by normal animals over the same interval. The effect of daily dialysis for 21 days on biochemical, hematologic and cytologic parameters was also determined. The model will allow the basic pathobiology of common problems such as CAPD-associated peritonitis to be investigated.