Antibiotic prophylaxis before peritoneal dialysis catheter insertion.

The use of antibiotic prophylaxis before peritoneal dialysis (PD) catheter insertion has been a matter of great interest for both the surgical and the nephrology community. No uniform consensus exists on the timing, duration, or choice of antibiotic prophylaxis. The exact incidence of early postoperative peritonitis is unknown. The impact of the use of antibiotic prophylaxis in the prevention of early PD peritonitis and in long-term catheter survival is not clear. In that respect, many retrospective and prospective studies have been undertaken in the past, and they have shown conflicting results. Based on extensive data from the surgical and nephrology literature, and also based on our experience, we present a review of the use of antibiotic prophylaxis before peritoneal dialysis catheter insertion.