Mortality in peritoneal dialysis patients

The incidence of end-stage renal disease is growing. Mortality remains high , despite improvements in care. Much of this can be explained by the presen ce of cardiovascular disease and other co-morbid conditions that are presen t at the start of dialysis. However, the dialysis treatment itself may exac erbate these conditions, and dialysis related factors such as adequacy, cyt okine production, and dialysis-related infections are important factors in survival. Early studies reported similar or better survival on peritoneal d ialysis (compared with hemodialysis), although more recent studies have que stioned this finding. This review summarizes the information on mortality i n peritoneal dialysis patients.