Dislipemia in patients undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis: pharmacological therapy (simvastatin) versus hemodialysis.

Peritoneal dialysis can worsen dislipemia, which is frequent in chronically uremic patients. In order to verify the therapeutic possibilities, we retrospectively studied 20 chronically uremic patients who had been previously treated with continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) and who had developed an IV-type dislipemia. Twelve have continued CAPD treatment and have been simultaneously treated with simvastatin; 8 have withdrawn from CAPD and have begun HD, without any antidislipemic pharmacological support. The results, after 3, 6, 12, and 18 months of treatment, showed the following: in patients treated with CAPD and simvastatin, highly significant decreases were noted in total cholesterol (T-cho) and triglycerides (TG) (p < 0.001), and highly significant increases were noted in HDL-cholesterol (HDL-cho) (p < 0.005) and apolipoprotein-A1 (Apo-A1) (p < 0.01). In patients treated with HD, only slightly significant decreases were noted in T-cho (p < 0.01) and TG (p < 0.02), a slightly significant increase in Apo-A1 (p < 0.05), and no significant change in HDL-cho. Apolipoprotein-B showed no change in the two groups. Therefore, patients undergoing CAPD, with dislipemia only, can continue the treatment, because simvastatin is capable of correcting dislipemia, while those patients who have displemia as well as other complications strictly due to CAPD must abandon treatment and must be transferred to extracorporeal methods.