Prognosis for patients with sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis following CAPD.

Sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis (SEP) is a very serious complication of CAPD. The present study was conducted on 7 SEP patients (4 male, 3 female, average age 33 years) from among 197 continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients over a period of 14 years. SEP affected 3.7% (7/197) of the CAPD patients in this study, and its annual incidence was found to be 2.6/1000. All 7 patients in this study exhibited ileus. The 3 patients with severe peritonitis and sepsis had transient ileus. The prognosis was poor for 3 patients who reported prior ultrafiltration problems. One of these patients died one year after the onset of SEP. The prognosis for one of the patients showed an intermediate course. SEP patients may possibly be divided into subgroups based on the course of prognosis. SEP patients with previous UF failure and longer duration of CAPD showed poorer prognoses. The quality of life, especially in regard to eating, is poor.