CAPD with preservation of ultrafiltration capacity in infants and young children during the first 18 months of treatment.

Prolonged CAPD is reported to cause a gradual loss of ultrafiltration capacity. The composition of the dialysis fluid and the occurrence of recurrent peritonitis episodes are assumed to be responsible for this diminished ultrafiltration. A group of 22 infants and young children (mean age 3.8 years) is described. CAPD was performed in these children for a mean period of 17.8 months. There was no loss of ultrafiltration capacity, determined by the repeated volume method, in the first 18 months of treatment. Urea clearance remained stable. These data could be calculated in half of the patients, the other patients behaved clinically in the same way. In one patient ultrafiltration capacity decreased after 4 years of treatment. It is concluded that, in young children, CAPD is a reliable renal replacement therapy, although peritonitis remains a matter of concern.