Original Article Personal dialysis capacity (PDCTM) test: a multicentre clinical study

Background. The assessment of the peritoneal mem-brane capacity and physiology of the individual patient is becoming increasingly important. It allows the prescription of an individualized peritoneal dialysis (PD)-regimen, and the monitoring of peritoneal membrane function over time. The PDCTM program offers the possibility to evaluate the peritoneal membrane characteristics and to predict solute and water removal by simulation of different treatment regimens. Methods. This study evaluates the relevance of the PDCTM program when routinely used. The PDCTM data of 336 patients from nine different centres in Europe were evaluated. Results. The area parameter was 20 985" 7578 cmu1.73 m2 (mean"SD). The reabsorption of fluid after dissipation of glucose, JvAR, was 1.97"1.00 mluminu1.73 m2. The large pore fluid flux, JvL, was 0.11"0.07 mluminu1.73 m2. A multivariate model for prediction of serum albumin included dialysate protein loss, JvL, JvAR, nPCR, A0uDX, BMI and gender (R2s0.81, P-0.001). Total clea-rance fell with increasing PD duration (P-0.001). A negative relation between A0uDX and ultrafiltration (rhos0.26, P-0.05), a positive relation between A0uDX and peritoneal creatinine clearance (rhos0.52, P-0.05) and urea clearance (rhos0.36, P-0.05), and a positive relation between measured peritoneal creatinine and urea clearance (rhos0.64, P-0.01) was observed. Conclusions. In summary, the present study shows that the PDCTM program is a robust, accurate method to describe the peritoneal membrane transport characteristics. Analysis of PDCTM data of large groups of patients, especially if followed up over time, can give interesting information on the physiol-ogy of the peritoneal membrane and the impact of different parameters on it