PERITONEAL SCLEROSIS IN CHRONIC PERITONEAL DIALYSIS PATIENTS: ANAL YSIS OF CLINICAL PRESENTATION, RISK FACTORS, AND PERITONEAL TRANSPORT KINETICS

.Objective: To analyze clinical features of peritoneal sclerosis (PS) in a group of peritoneal dialysis (PD) pa-tients, and to compare potential riskfactors and peritoneal transport characteristics with a control group matched for duration of PD..Design: Study 1: Retrospective study of 16 PD patients with PS. Study 2: Case-control study comparing 10 patients with evident PS to 30 control patients who were matched for duration of PD..Setting: Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis unit in the Academic Medical Centre in Amsterdam..Results: The incidence of PS was 3.5 per 1000 patient years. PS was diagnosed either during PD (n = 10), in patients on hemodialysis (n = 2), or after successful transplantation (n = 4). Presenting symptoms were bowel obstruction, ascites, blood-stained effluent, and impaired net ultrafiltration. Macroscopic confirmation of the diagnosis was possible in 13 patients. Sclerotic encapsulation was present in 8 of them. Patients with PS were divided into three groups based on clinical symptoms and typica