RATIONAL CHOICE OF PERITONEAL DIALYSIS CATHETER

The peritoneal catheter should be a permanent and safe access to the peritoneal cavity. Catheter-related problems are often the cause of permanent transfer to hemodialysis (HD) in up to 20 % of peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients; in some cases, these problems require a temporary period on HD. Advances in connectology have reduced the incidence of peritonitis, and so catheter-related complications dur-ing PD have become a major concern. In the last few years, novel techniques have emerged in the field of PD: new dialysis solutions, better connectology, and cyclers for automated PD. However, extracorporeal di-alysis has continued to improve in terms of methods and patient survival, but PD has failed to do so. The main rea-son is that peritoneal access has remained problematical. The peritoneal catheter is the major obstacle to wide