[Patients treated by peritoneal dialysis: a heterogeneous group of patients. Profile of PD patients]

Abstract

Often, one gathers together under the denomination "peritoneal dialysis" patients with various clinical profiles. To quantify this "heterogeneity" we analysed the clinical characteristics of 32,975 patients treated by dialysis at 31 December 2008 in 22 French regions, participating to the REIN registry. This cross-sectional study confirms our initial hypothesis of a great heterogeneity of patients' profiles in peritoneal dialysis. As in hemodialysis, there is a gradation between modalities: from assisted continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis which concerns the frailty patients to autonomous automated peritoneal dialysis for more healthy patients, through assisted automated peritoneal dialysis and autonomous continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis.