Short-term peritoneal rest reduces peritoneal solute transport rate and increases ultrafiltration in high/high average transport peritoneal dialysis patients: a crossover randomized controlled trial.

Background: The peritoneal solute transport rate (PSTR) tends to increase over time in some patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD), potentially leading to ultrafiltration (UF) failure. Previous case reports have shown a significant decrease in PSTR and subsequent recovery of UF after discontinuing PD for a while. Therefore, we conducted a randomized controlled crossover study to evaluate the impact of short-term peritoneal rest on PSTR.

Methods: The study involved 14 continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients with high/high-average transport rate. Two groups were randomly assigned different treatment sequences: one group underwent daily intermittent peritoneal dialysis (IPD) for 4 weeks followed by CAPD, while the other group initially received CAPD treatment for 4 weeks and then switched to IPD. Peritoneal equilibration tests were performed before and after each treatment to evaluate PSTR and paired t-tests were used to compare the changes. Volume load, serum potassium and other clinical indicators were monitored at the same time.

Results: Short-term peritoneal rest (daily IPD) significantly reduced PSTR, with a decrease in the dialysate:plasma creatinine ratio from 0.71 ± 0.05 to 0.65 ± 0.07 (P < .001). Additionally, ultrafiltration significantly increased from 210 ± 165 ml to 407 ± 209 ml (P = .001). But there were no significant changes in interleukin-6 and vascular endothelial growth factor of PD effluent. No serious adverse events such as hypotension or hyperkalaemia occurred.

Conclusions: In PD patients with high and high-average transport, a 4-week period of short-term peritoneal rest by switching from CAPD to IPD (without long dwell) can lead to reductions in PSTR and increases in UF volumes, while maintaining clinical safety.