Fungal Peritonitis in Peritoneal Dialysis: Our Experience and Review of Treatments

From January 1975 to April 1982, 10 of our patients undergoing chronic peritoneal dialysis developed fungal peritonitis. Of six treated without removing the catheter two survived after intraperitoneal (IP) administration of imidazole derivatives, and four died despite combined IP and intravenous (IV) therapy. Of four patients treated by catheter removal, all survived, two without any additional therapy and two after IV antifungal treatment. Three of the deaths followed cardiac or cerebral accidents, while one was related to Candida sepsis.

Bacterial peritonitis is a frequent complication of peritoneal dialysis (FD). In addition fungal peritonitis has been reported with increasing frequency with the growing diffusion of FD, the subsequent increase in infectious episodes, the antibiotic treatment, which such complications require and the improvement in technique for mycological diagnosis.

This paper describes our experience with the clinical manifestations of fungal peritonitis and its treatment in 10 patients undergoing intennittent peritoneal dialysis (IFD) or continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAFD).

The role of Neurotransmitters in the Genesis of Uremic Encephalopathy

To classify the influence of neurotransmitters in the genesis of uremic encephalopathy we studied cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma (P) amino acid (AA) concentration, in patients undergoing various dialytic treatments (hemodialysis = HD, intermittent and continuous peritoneal dialysis = IPD and CAPD).

HD causes a significant decrease in CSF/P ratios of branched chain AA (BCAA) and a significant increase in CSF Glycine/Valine ratio, suggesting an augmented brain uptake of Glycine at detriment of Valine. In IPD the general trend of Aromatic AA/BCAA ratio suggests a preferentilal transport of Aromatic AA through the blood brain barrier. The differences between IPD and HD are confirmed by data concerning metabolites of Serotonin and Dopamine: CSF concentrations of 5-Hydroxyndoleacetic acid and Homovanillic acid are low in HD but high in IPD.

So, a reduced (in HD) and an increased (in IPD) activity of monoamine systems could be at the basis of some neurological disturbances appearing in uremia.

Hyperprolactinemia as a Marker of Neurotransmitter Imbalance in Uremic Population

Serum prolactin (PRL) levels are elevated in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) but the mechanisms responsible for these abnormalities are not fully understood. PRL secretion is undoubtedly influenced by many substances, which can be variously altered in uremia: monoamines, endogenous opiates and PTH. Our data suggest that in early renal failure PRL levels are already significantly high and the 24-h pattern of PRL secretion is significantly different from that in controls.

PRL derangements could be due in mild renal failure, to unknown factors (GABA?); in severe CRF, to a major change in dopaminergic activity; in hemodialysis (HD), to a low turnover of monoamines, and in peritoneal dialysis (PD) to increased activity of sero-toninergic and dopaminergic systems.

[A new instrument to evaluate the quality of life on patients treated by hemodialysis (IPPE): first exploratory analysis of psychometric properties]

INTRODUCTION

The article presents a new instrument for the evaluation the Quality of Life, concerning patients on haemodialysis; IPPE tool has been created to be brief, multidimensional and also capable to considering, into the evaluation of patient Quality of Life, both familiar that hospital relational aspects. The purpose of this report is to explore the factor structure and the internal validity of the IPPE questionnaire.

METHODS

The research involved three ASL on the territory of Salerno (57%), Verona (20.3%), Cuneo (22.7%). IPPE has been administered to 256 patients on Haemodialysis.

RESULTS

As well as describing the IPPE's psychometric properties, the report offers a description of the normal distribution of the subjects in regard with risk and protection factors' (distinguishing the population by "age" and "gender"). The Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) of the definitive questionnaire (20 items) singles out six subscales ("perceived thirst", "body misperception", "dissatisfaction of therapeutic aspects", "perceived family support", "social daily life", "illness acceptance") that have an internal validity index alpha between .72 and .91. The Schmid-Leiman's solution confirms the existence of two macro-factors underlying as "risk factors" and "protection factors", reciprocally linked by a negative correlation (r = -.216, p < .001). SEM Analysis verifies the model "goodness of fit" and relations between risk and protection factors.

CONCLUSION

The data show that when the factors of protection increase, the perception of the risk factors decreases, and vice versa. The IPPE questionnaire considers the interactions between risk and protection factors' (bio-psycho-social model), operationalizing the QoL in a new way. Based on the results observed on the literature and on this work it is possible to hypothesize that the bio-psycho-social model of QoL could be considered as a process of psycho-social adaptation.

Significance of plasma B-type natriuretic peptide in hemodialysis patients: blood sample timing and comorbidity burden

Plasma B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) concentration was evaluated in end-stage renal disease patients to verify if measurements before or after the session could furnish different information. BNP levels in plasma from 52 hemodialysis (HD) patients were measured both before and after the first session of the week. Echocardiographic studies were also performed and patients were followed over a period of 28 months. BNP removal from plasma was influenced by equilibrated Kt/V and patient characteristics. Initial plasma BNP concentration was correlated both with cardiac systolic function (LVEF) and mortality rate, independent of blood sample timing (before or after HD). A relative risk of death of 2.67 was found for plasma BNP levels above 335 pg/mL or 232 pg/mL, before and after HD, respectively. Higher BNP levels were observed in patients with higher burden of comorbidity, as measured by the Charlson Comorbidity Index; however, statistical significance was obtained only for BNP measured before HD. In conclusion, measurement of plasma BNP could give a valuable risk stratification of HD patients while cutting costs, by confining echocardiographic studies only to cases with BNP levels above the established cutoff values.

Do different dialytic techniques have different atherosclerotic and antioxidant activities?

To compare the chronic effect of several dialytic techniques (bicarbonate dialysis, BHD; acetate free biofiltration, AFB; hemodiafiltration, HDF; paired filtration dialysis, PFD) on atherosclerosis and antioxidant activity, three different indices were created. The first (atherosclerotic index = AI) is formed using the sum of three plasma substances: MDA, Hcy, and Cys (malondialdehyde, homocysteine, cysteine). The second (antioxidant activity index = AOAI) is the sum of five erythrocyte (E) parameters: E-GSH, GPx, CAT, SOD, GR (E-glutathione, E-glutathione peroxidase, E-catalase, E-superoxide dismutase, E-glutathione reductase). The third (defense index = DI) is derived from the previous two: (AOAI - AI). The indices were so expressed as AI in mmol/L, AOAI in U/g hemoglobin (Hb), and DI in arbitrary units. These indices were calculated in 20 controls and 51 chronic HD patients (26 female, 25 male) before, during, and after the first session of the week. HD patients were divided according to their dialytic technique: BHD, n = 35; AFB, n = 5 patients; HDF, n = 7 patients; or PFD = 4 patients. All patients had been treated with a given technique for at least 12 months, before entering the study. As expected, HD patients had AI values higher than controls, both before and after the session, with a mean value of 541 (before) and 331 (after), whereas controls had a mean value of 205. The AOAI was lower than controls, both before and after the session, the mean value being 1,122 (before) and 1,582 (after), that of controls being 2,424. In all cases, PFD gave the best "acute" results; at the end of a PFD session, near normal values of AI, AOAI, and DI (defensive index = AOAI - AI) were obtained.

Role of cellulosic and noncellulosic membranes in hyperhomocysteinemia and oxidative stress

Hyperhomocysteinemia is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) with an increased relative risk (RR) of 1% per micromol/L in total homocysteine concentration. In ESRD patients who undergo hemodialysis (HD), the antioxidant system is largely inadequate in correcting the imbalance between generation and scavenging of reactive oxygen species (ROS). To clarify the role of several cellulosic (CMs) and noncellulosic of synthetic membranes (NCMs) upon hyperhomocysteinemia and the oxidative stress, we measured plasma (P) homocysteine (t-HCY), plasma lipid peroxidation (LPO), and erythrocyte (E) concentration of several antioxidant enzymes in 20 normal subjects, in 35 HD patients treated with CMs, and in 29 patients treated with NCMs. Before, during, and after the first session of the week (at times 0', 120', end, 30' after HD end), blood samples were drawn. Plasma (P) homocysteine (t-HCY), cysteine (CYS), malondialdehyde (MDA), erythrocyte (E)-glutathione (GSH), glucose-6-phosphodehydrogenase (G6PD), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT), and superoxide-dismutase (SOD) were determined. The dialytic procedure significantly decreased the three plasma parameters, but none normalized (as a mean). The E-enzymes scavenging ROS (lower than normal before session) increased throughout the session, but the normal range of activity was never reached. Different membranes have shown different effects. When these effects on P and E spaces were pooled, we were able to classify the membranes as follows. In a general sense, cellulosic membranes are less effective than synthetic membranes both on lipoperoxides (LPO) and antioxidant activity (AOA). Among synthetic membranes, PMMA is the best membrane both for plasma values and lesser enzymatic derangement during the session. A practical system for classifying the anti-atherosclerotic action and antioxidant activity of dialytic membranes is proposed.

Hyperprolactinemia as a marker of neurotransmitter imbalance in uremic population

Serum prolactin (PRL) levels are elevated in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) but the mechanisms responsible for these abnormalities are not fully understood. PRL secretion is undoubtedly influenced by many substances, which can be variously altered in uremia: monoamines, endogenous opiates and PTH. Our data suggest that in early renal failure PRL levels are already significantly high and the 24-h pattern of PRL secretion is significantly different from that in controls. PRL derangements could be due in mild renal failure, to unknown factors (GABA?); in severe CRF, to a major change in dopaminergic activity; in hemodialysis (HD), to a low turnover of monoamines, and in peritoneal dialysis (PD) to increased activity of serotoninergic and dopaminergic systems.

The role of neurotransmitters in the genesis of uremic encephalopathy

To classify the influence of neurotransmitters in the genesis of uremic encephalopathy we studied cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma (P) amino acid (AA) concentration, in patients undergoing various dialytic treatments (hemodialysis = HD, intermittent and continuous peritoneal dialysis = IPD and CAPD). HD causes a significant decrease in CSF/P ratios of branched chain AA (BCAA) and a significant increase in CSF Glycine/Valine ratio, suggesting an augmented brain uptake of Glycine at detriment of Valine. In IPD the general trend of Aromatic AA/BCAA ratio suggests a preferential transport of Aromatic AA through the blood brain barrier. The differences between IPD and HD are confirmed by data concerning metabolites of Serotonin and Dopamine: CSF concentrations of 5- Hydroxyindoleacetic acid and Homovanillic acid are low in HD but high in IPD. So, a reduced (in HD) and an increased (in IPD) activity of monoamine systems could be at the basis of some neurological disturbances appearing in uremia.