Brevundimonas vesicularis Peritonitis in a Chronic Peritoneal Dialysis Patient

Gram-negative peritonitis in chronic peritoneal dialysis patients is difficult to treat and may result in catheter loss. <i>Brevundimonas vesicularis</i> is a Gram-negative rod bacterium which rarely causes infections in humans. A 41-year-old male receiving continuous cycling peritoneal dialysis for 5 months developed culture-negative peritonitis. He failed initial empiric treatment with intraperitoneal vancomycin and levofloxacin and thereafter intravenous gentamicin. <i>B. vesicularis</i> resistant to levofloxacin was isolated from the peritoneal fluid 21 days after his initial symptoms. Despite treatment with intravenous ceftriaxone and oral amoxicillin-clavulanate, the infection persisted, which required removal of the peritoneal catheter in order to cure this infection. We describe the features of <i>B. vesicularis</i> infection in our patient and the rarely reported additional cases.

The Diagnosis of Protein Energy Wasting in Chronic Peritoneal Dialysis Patients Is Influenced by the Method of Calculating Muscle Mass. A Prospective, Multicenter Study

Objective: To analyze the concordance and agreement between bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) and anthropometry for the diagnosis of protein energy wasting (PEW) in chronic peritoneal dialysis patients.Methods: Prospective, multi-center, observational study using multifrequency bioimpedance device (Body Composition Monitor -BCM®- Fresenius Medical Care) and anthropometry for the diagnosis of PEW as recommended by the International Society of Renal Nutrition and Metabolism (ISRNM). Cohen's kappa was the main test used to analyze concordance and a Bland-Altmann curve was built to evaluate the agreement between both methods.Results: We included 137 patients from three PD clinics. The mean age of the study population was 57.7 ± 14.9, 47.8% had diabetes, and 52.2% were male. We calculated the scores for PEW diagnosis at 3 and 6 months after the first collection (T3 and T6) and on average 40% of the study population were diagnosed with PEW. The concordance in the diagnosis of PEW was only moderate between anthropometry and BIS at both T3 and T6. The main factor responsible for our results was a low to moderate correlation for muscle mass in kilograms, with an r-squared (R2) of 0.35. The agreement was poor, with a difference of more than 10 kg of muscle mass on average and with more than a quarter of all cases beyond the limits of agreements.Conclusion: Current diagnosis of PEW may differ depending on the tools used to measure muscle mass in peritoneal dialysis patients.

Prevalence of peritonitis and mortality in patients with ESKD treated with chronic peritoneal dialysis in Africa: a systematic review

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to report the prevalence of peritonitis and mortality in patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) treated with chronic peritoneal dialysis (PD) in Africa.DesignSystematic review.SettingAfrica.ParticipantsPatients with ESKD in Africa.InterventionsPD in its varied forms.Primary and secondary outcomesPD-related peritonitis rate (primary outcome), time-to-discontinuation of PD, mortality.Data sourcesFour databases, including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and Africa Journal Online were systematically searched from 1 January 1980 to 31 December 2019.Eligibility criteriaStudies conducted in Africa reporting peritonitis rate and mortality in patients treated with PD.Data extraction and synthesisTwo reviewers extracted and synthesised the data using Microsoft Excel. The quality of included data was also assessed.ResultsWe included 17 studies from seven African countries representing 1894 patients treated with PD. The overall median age was 41.4 years (IQR: 38.2–44.7) with a median time on PD of 18.0 months (17.0–22.6). An overall median peritonitis rate of 0.75 (0.56–2.20) episodes per patient-year (PPY) was observed and had declined with time; peritonitis rate was higher in paediatric studies than adult studies (1.78 (1.26–2.25) vs 0.63 (0.55–1.87) episodes PPY). The overall median proportion of deaths was 21.1% (16.2–25.8). Culture negative peritonitis was common in paediatric studies and studies that reported combined outcomes of continuous ambulatory PD and automated PD. Both 1-year and 2-year technique survival were low in all studies (83.6% and 53.0%, respectively) and were responsible for a high proportion of modality switch.ConclusionsOur study identifies that there is still high but declining peritonitis rates as well as low technique and patient survival in PD studies conducted in Africa. Sustained efforts should continue to mitigate factors associated with peritonitis in patients with ESKD treated with PD in Africa.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42017072966.