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Role of predictors and rapid diagnosis of fungal peritonitis in CAPD patients

Background Fungal peritonitis represents one of the most serious complications in patients on CAPD therapy. In the present study we analyze PD patients who developed fungal peritonitis.

Methods In between January 2000 to August 2015, we retrospectively identified fungal PD peritonitis episodes, examined the demographic features, incidence, predictors, causative fungi and outcome.

Results We analyzed 65 episodes of PD associated fungal peritonitis which includes 89.3% Candida species, 1.5% yeast and 9.2% dimorphic fungi. Association between predictors and pathogens was found significant at 0.05 levels. Catheter removal (47.1%) and loss of life (20.6%) was significantly more frequent in patients with diabetes, glomerulonephritis required maximum hospitalization while cure rate (55.6%) was more significant in patients with hypertension. Data were significant at p value of 0.05.

Conclusions Our results suggest that prompt identification of predictors may force us for early intervention to reduce mortality and technique failure in PD associated fungal peritonitis. Early availability of direct microscopy of dialysate pellet became useful for the rapid, aggressive and judicious management of the fungal peritonitis and was the reason of high cure (27.7%) and low mortality (15.7%) in our case series.