COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHIC PERITONEOGRAPHY - CT MANIFESTATIONS IN THE INVESTIGATION OF LEAKS AND ABNORMAL COLLECTIONS IN PATIENTS WITH CAPD

Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) is now a common form of treatment for patients with chronic renal failure. However, periton eal leaks and abnormal intraperitoneal collections can be problematic in these patients, leading to poor dialysate returns, anterior abdomin al wall oedema, and genital oedema. We report on a series of 62 comput ed tomographic peritoneograms performed using a standard protocol on 3 9 symptomatic patients over 6 years. Thirty-seven scans identified per itoneal leaks or abnormal collections, including leaks from the presen t dialysis catheter site and previous catheter sites, and collections in inguinal and abdominal herniae. Three patients had abnormalities at two sites each. Localization of leaks and collections is of direct us e when surgical management of these patients is contemplated and this paper aims to illustrate the typical CT findings occurring in these pa tients.