History of peritoneal dialysis in France

Abstract

In France the first peritoneal dialysis was performed in the mid-1940s. For a long time reserved for frail subjects in whom hemodialysis appeared more dangerous, it is considered nowadays as a technique equivalent to hemodialysis, provided its indications and contraindications are respected and associated with the respect of the patient’s free choice after objective information. In particular, there is now a consensus to recognize its interest in patients waiting for transplantation, usually in order to preserve vascular access. Over the past decades French teams have played their role nationally and internationally, very often in partnership with their European neighbors, to improve the results achieved and to improve the different modalities. Since the end of the 1980s, the evaluation of practices has been made possible thanks to the participation in a specialized peritoneal dialysis registry.This article is a general review, not exhaustive, of the role played by the main French teams who succeeded one another.