Optimizing Peritoneal Dialysis–Associated Peritonitis Prevention in the United States

Abstract

Peritoneal dialysis (PD)–associated peritonitis is the leading cause of permanent transition to hemodialysis among patients receiving PD. Peritonitis is associated with higher mortality risk and added treatment costs and limits more widespread PD utilization. Optimizing the prevention of peritonitis in the United States will first require standardization of peritonitis definitions, key data elements, and outcomes in an effort to facilitate nationwide reporting. Standardized reporting can also help describe the variability in peritonitis rates and outcomes across facilities in the United States in an effort to identify potential peritonitis prevention strategies and engage with stakeholders to develop strategies for their implementation. Here, we will highlight considerations and challenges in developing standardized definitions and implementation of national reporting of peritonitis rates by PD facilities. We will describe existing peritonitis prevention evidence gaps, highlight successful infection-reporting initiatives among patients receiving in-center hemodialysis or PD, and provide an overview of nationwide quality improvement initiatives, both in the United States and elsewhere, that have translated into a reduction in peritonitis incidence. We will discuss opportunities for collaboration and expansion of the Nephrologists Transforming Dialysis Safety (NTDS) initiative to develop knowledge translation pathways that will lead to dissemination of best practices in an effort to reduce peritonitis incidence.