Prophylaxis of peritonitis in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) by a simple microbiological patient self-check.

For prophylaxis of peritonitis a simple microbiological patient self-check method was developed. By regular twice daily cultivation of dialysate drainage in a tube with nutrient medium (= Dialysate-Digest Medium-tube method) a latent peritoneal infection can be detected before the symptoms of peritonitis appear. The outbreak of peritonitis can then be prevented by early antibiotic treatment. After the dialysate digest medium-tube method was introduced in our CAPD programme the incidence of peritonitis was reduced from 5.6 to 0.5 episodes per patient year.