Gastroparesis is a disabling complication in diabetic patients. It has been reported as the second most frequent cause of hospitalization in diabetic patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). We analyzed infectious and noninfectious complications in our CAPD patients. We included 31 patients (12 diabetics and 19 nondiabetics) with an average time on CAPD of 14 +/- 7 months. The incidence of peritonitis was 1.68 episodes/patient/year in diabetics and 0.84 in nondiabetics. Nine (75%) diabetic patients had peritonitis, 5 (42%) had vomiting, and 4 (33%) had ischemic heart disease. The hospitalization index (days/year) was greater in diabetics: 11.83 +/- 11.36 versus 4.16 +/- 8.84 in nondiabetics (p < 0.05). Vomiting was the first cause of admission in diabetics. We were unable to control severe gastroparesis with cisapride and metoclopramide in 4 patients. Erythromycin, 100 mg/2-L bag of dialysate, improved symptoms in all of them. We concluded that gastroparesis is an important cause of morbidity in CAPD patients. Intraperitoneal erythromycin can improve symptoms if other prokinetic drugs fail.