Growth, development and nutritional status in Japanese children under 2 years on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis.

We examined the growth, development and nutritional status over a period of 10 years of 15 young children (< 2 years old) on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). There were 6 males and 9 females with a mean age of 12.5 months, mean weight of 6.3 kg, mean height of 66.2 cm at the start of CAPD and a mean duration of therapy of 2.6 years. Height, weight, head circumference, development quotient (DQ), blood chemistry and dietary intake were assessed over a period of 10 years. The patients' mean height standard deviation score (SDS) did not change significantly (from -2.51 to -2.74) during CAPD therapy. The mean growth velocity index (GVI) during CAPD was 76.5% and correlated positively with energy intake but not with protein intake. The mean DQ was low (67.0%) at the start of CAPD and 69.3% at the end of CAPD. DQ did not correlate with energy intake, GVI, head circumference SDS or with the weight/height ratio; however, 2 patients with low DQ (< 60%) had a low energy intakes. Although most patients had a low DQ, the IQ at 5-6 years of age was normal in all patients except 1 without cerebral disease. Our study showed minimal growth (delta SDS) and mental developmental (IQ) delays during CAPD therapy, but an adequate nutritional intake must be assured to obtain the above results.