Consensus Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Catheter-Related Infections and Peritonitis in Pediatric Patients Receiving Peritoneal Dialysis: 2012 Update

Abstract

Infectious complications remain the most significant cause for morbidity in pediatric patients receiving chronic peritoneal dialysis (PD). Although prophylactic measures have led to improved results in some centers, the frequency of peritonitis in children on PD continues to exceed that seen in adults, and peritonitis remains the most common reason for changing dialysis modality in children (1,2). The serious nature of this infection led to the creation and publication in 2000 of the Consensus Guidelines for the Treatment of Peritonitis in Pediatric Patients Receiving Peritoneal Dialysis (3), under the auspices of the International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis (ISPD). Those largely opinion-based guidelines were composed by an international committee of experts in the field of pediatric dialysis and served as the first such set of recommendations specific to the pediatric PD population. After the publication of those guidelines, the International Pediatric Peritoneal Dialysis Registry (IPPR) was established to support evaluations of the impact of implementing the guidelines on a global basis and to collect data to serve as evidence upon which future guidelines could be based. Data generated from 501 episodes of peritonitis were collected by the IPPR and serve as a foundation for many of the recommendations made in the present publication (4,5). As with the earlier publication, an international group of experts consisting of pediatric nephrologists, a pediatric dialysis nurse, and a pediatric infectious disease specialist collaborated in the effort. Committee discussions took place face-to-face, during conference calls, and by e-mail. The strength of each guideline statement is graded as Level 1 or 2, or Not Graded, and the quality of the supporting evidence as A, B, C, or D in accordance with the rating scheme used in the KDIGO (Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes) Clinical Practice Guideline for the Care of the Kidney Transplant Recipient (6). Table 1 describes the scheme. TABLE 1 Guideline Rating Scheme Finally, wherever possible, efforts were made to achieve harmonization between the recently published adult treatment recommendations and those designed for children (7). In addition, supporting information (for example, reporting of peritonitis rates, definitions) that is included in the publication pertaining to adults and that is equally applicable to pediatric populations was included in the present publication.