Prevention of Peritonitis in Children: Emerging Concepts

Abstract

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is the modality of choice for pediatric patients in all over the world. Peritonitis, still the main complication of PD, causes significant morbidity and mortality. Therefore, prevention of peritonitis is of particular importance. Pre-implantation antibiotic prophylaxis, catheter-related interventions (catheter selection, implantation technique, exit-site orientation), acute and chronic exit-site care (dressing protocols and application of an exit-site antibiotic such as mupirocin or gentamicin), antifungal prophylaxis during peritonitis, contamination protocols and prevention of touch contamination, patient and trainer training, tracking and root-cause analysis of infections, and continuous quality improvement programs are all essential for the prevention of peritonitis episodes. In the present review, all those issues and emerging concepts are discussed.