Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To detect the incidence of and risk factors for infections among patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD). METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted at the PD unit of King Fahad Medical City. End-stage renal disease patients above the age of 12 years who were undergoing PD management between January 2006 and March 2016 were included. RESULTS: One hundred PD patients were enrolled in the study and examined over a total observation period of 2,553 patient-months. The leading ESRD etiology was hypertension (26.3%). The mean duration of PD was 28.05 months. A total of 45 patients developed 101 episodes of technique-related infections (TRIs). Peritonitis represented the majority of these episodes (90 episodes), with an overall rate of one episode per 28.3 patient-months. TRIs were mostly caused by coagulase-negative staphylococci. A total of 12 patients developed non-technique related infections (NTRIs). There was a statistically significant difference between patients with TRI and non-infected patients regarding the presence of diabetes and duration of dialysis. No peritonitis-related deaths were noted. In total, 21 patients continued on PD and 18 patients were shifted to hemodialysis (HD). Conclusion: In our setting, ESRD patients undergoing PD are more susceptible to TRIs than NTRIs. Diabetes increases the risk of developing TRIs. The high incidence of coagulase-negative staphylococcal TRI suggests touch contamination.