[Treatment of peritonitis due to continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis using a single daily intraperitoneal dose of 1g cefotiam].

Peritonitis remains the main complication of CAPD. This study demonstrates that most cases can be successfully treated with cefotiam. In 17 patients under CAPD, 33 cases of bacterial peritonitis were observed, with clinical manifestations in 28. The mean cell count in peritoneal dialysis fluid was 2 820/mm3, with 2 200/mm3 polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Causative pathogens were Staphylococcus in 18 cases, Streptococcus in 4, Stomatococcus mucilaginous in 1, Corynebacterium J.K. in 1, Enterobacter in 3, Acinetobacter in 3 and Pseudomonas in 2. Two cultures were negative. First choice treatment was a daily intraperitoneal injection of 1 g cefotiam. 68.80% of patients recovered within 6 days. Failures were due to a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis in 3 cases, a relapsing Stomatococcus mucilaginous infection in 1, a Streptococcus faecalis in 1, an Acinetobacter in 3 and a Pseudomonas in 2. Mean cefotiam concentrations 24 hours after the intraperitoneal injection were 9.4 +/- 7.0 micrograms/ml (range 1.3-26.4 micrograms/ml) in serum and 3.4 +/- 3.3 micrograms/ml (range 0.4-12.2 micrograms/ml) in dialysate. These concentrations are greater than most of cefotiam's MICs for susceptible bacteria, a finding that confirms the value of treatment with a single daily intraperitoneal injection of cefotiam.