Continuous ambulatory and continuous cycling peritoneal dialysis in children. A report of the Southwest Pediatric Nephrology Study Group.

Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) and continuous cycling peritoneal dialysis (CCPD) have become acceptable methods of treatment for children with endstage renal disease (ESRD). In this study we have compared the effectiveness of these two modalities of prolonged dwell peritoneal dialysis in 82 children treated at home with CAPD and/or CCPD for a mean of 10.2 months. Forty variables were evaluated during 92 patient periods (63 CAPD, 29 CCPD). There was no difference between the two groups with regard to sex, race, original disease, duration of dialysis, or volume of dialysis fluid. The only difference in biochemical profiles between the two groups was a higher serum creatinine in CCPD patients due in part to this group's greater age. The rate of peritonitis was not different (CAPD 1/4.6, CCPD 1/5.2 months), but the number of patient periods devoid of peritonitis was greater in the CCPD group (14/29 vs. 17/63, P = 0.04). Growth velocity index (GVI) and standard deviation scores (SD scores) were used to evaluate growth in the total group and subsets according to age. Overall GVI was 88% of expected and did not differ between PD groups (CAPD 88% vs. CCPD 89%). There were no significant changes in SD scores for growth during the course of prolonged dwell peritoneal dialysis indicating that the children did not experience further deterioration in growth. Children less than 4 years of age also did not have significant changes in SD scores. We conclude that CAPD and CCPD provide acceptable and comparable modes of dialytic therapy for children with ESRD.