Lessons from the peritoneal dialysis patient database: a report of the North American Pediatric Renal Transplant Cooperative Study.

Data derived from 1383 independent courses of peritoneal dialysis have been recorded in the database of the North American Pediatric Renal Transplant Cooperative Study (NAPRTCS). Automated peritoneal dialysis (APD) continues to be the preferred modality. Peritoneal access is most commonly achieved with a Tenckhoff curled catheter with a single-cuff and straight tunnel. Overall, the peritonitis rate is 1 infection every 13.3 months, the frequency of infection being greatest in the youngest patients. Two-cuffed catheters and exit-sites directed down positively influence this rate. Excessive infection is the primary reason for modality termination in surviving patients not transplanted. A total of 64 deaths have occurred in the peritoneal dialysis population. The 12-month and 24-month mortality probabilities in children < two years of age are significantly greater than comparable data in the older children.