Effect of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis on blood pressure control.

To assess the efficacy of blood pressure control in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD), blood pressure was examined sequentially in 63 CAPD patients transferred from hemodialysis (HD), and in 97 patients started de novo on CAPD (NEW), over periods ranging from 3 to 63 months. Blood pressure changes were related to changes in body weight, hematocrit, and treatment with recombinant human erythropoietin (rHu-EPO), as well as to changes in antihypertensive drug requirements. Both groups of patients showed an immediate improvement in blood pressure control at 1 month, as manifested by an absolute decrease in blood pressure in HD patients (-4.3% +/- 2.1% [SEM], P < 0.05) and by a decrease in antihypertensive drug requirements in NEW patients (from 78% to 43.3%). This early improvement in blood pressure appeared to be volume-related, as reflected by changes in body weight. Both groups showed an additional decrement in blood pressure at approximately 6 months (-7.8% +/- 2.6% [SEM], P < 0.05, HD group; -3.4% +/- 2.4% [SEM], P < 0.05, NEW group). Treatment of anemia with rHu-EPO in 22 of the CAPD patients had no effect on blood pressure. CAPD thus appears to be more effective than HD in controlling blood pressure.