Peritoneal effluent markers of inflammation in patients treated with icodextrin-based and glucose-based dialysis solutions.

Chronic exposure to peritoneal dialysis (PD) solutions is associated with a low-grade local inflammatory state of the peritoneum. The occurrence of culture-negative peritonitis in some PD patients treated with icodextrin focused our interest on subclinical inflammation in icodextrin-treated patients without peritonitis. The aim of the present study was to compare signs of inflammation in icodextrin-treated patients with the same signs in patients using glucose/lactate-based (GL) dialysis solutions only. Overnight PD effluents from 19 patients treated with icodextrin and 19 patients treated with GL were investigated for leukocyte count (LC) and differentiation (LD), and for dialysate concentrations of cancer antigen 125 (CA125, the marker of mesothelial cell mass) and hyaluronan (marker of inflammation and tissue remodeling in the peritoneal cavity). Blood cell counts and serum dextran antibodies (DA) were also determined. Total LC in the GL group was significantly lower than that in the icodextrin group. The LD was not different between the two groups, except for the percentage of eosinophils. The blood cell count did not differ between the groups. The median value of DA was similar in both groups. The hyaluronan concentration was markedly higher in the icodextrin group. No significant difference was found for dialysate CA125. In conclusion, the higher effluent cell count, higher percentage of eosinophils, and higher effluent hyaluronan levels in icodextrin-treated patients are consistent with a greater degree of subclinical inflammation during icodextrin treatment than during GL treatment.