In Vitro and in Vivo Efficacy of a New Connector Device for Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the In vltro and in vivo efficacy of a new connection system for continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPO), called the T-set. With this system the patient wears a 27–cm extension line filled with Amuchina during the dwell time; the bag is made of a fill container linked to a drainage tube with a Y-shaped set. For bag exchange, only one connection is needed and this is subsequently flushed with the entire drainage volume. The in vitro efficacy of the system was tested with 20 sets filled with 10 mL of Amuchina and inoculated in the distallumen with 2.1x103 colony-forming units (cfu) of S. aureus. After an Incubation of 4–6 hours at 35–37°C, three dialysate samples per set were collected, respectively, at the beginning of drainage and filling. Al1120 samples were negative, whereas two control sets, filled with a phosphate-buffered saline, had positive drainage samples, and at least one positive Infusion sample, Indicating the efficacy of Amuchina in sterilizing the system under conditions simulating touch contamination. To evaluate the in vivo efficacy, safety, and acceptability of the T-system, a prospective randomized controlled trial was performed In seven centers: a control group (CG) of 56 patients (follow-up: 952.3 months, mean±SO: 17.0±7.8) was treated with a long branch (21 patients) or short branch (35 patients) Y-set and a test group (TG) of 66 patients (follow-up: 898.1 months, mean±SO: 13.6±7.8) with the T-set. The two groups were comparable for patient and dialysis characteristics. The incidence of peritonitis was 1143.3 months in the CG and 1129.0 months In the TG (p=NS). The percentage of patients without peritonitis was 67.8% In the CG and 68.2% In the TG (p=NS); the probability of remaining free from peritonitis was, respectively, 76% and 75% In the CG and in the TG at 1 year, and 66% and 60% at 2 years (p=NS). In the CG 26 patients and In the TG 21 patients were already on CAPO before the trial; among these 21 patients, 10 of 10 with the long Y-set and 4 of 11 with the short Y-set who transferred to the T-set preferred the latter for better handling (52.4%) or for less encumbrance (14.3%).