Comparison of intermittent with continuous peritoneal dialysis.

Our experience with 41 patients on CAPD is presented (127 patient months). Thirty-three patients were previously on intermittent peritoneal dialysis. We used 4 exchanges of 2 L each per 24 hours (8, 6, 6 and 4 hours dwell times). There was a dramatic fall in serum creatinine of 27%, BUN fell 22%, total CO2 rose 15%. Haemoglobin rose 10% and serum albumin fell by 5%. The incidence of peritonitis was one episode per 7.1 patient months. All patients noted an increase in well being. There were almost no dietary restrictions and patients gained real body weight. In most instances, their antihypertensive medication could be discontinued. This technique is superior to all the other forms of peritoneal dialysis.