Comparisons of the peritoneal equilibration test and ultrafiltration in patients with and without diabetes mellitus on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis

Background/Aims: To compare dialysance and ultrafiltration (UF) of peritoneum in diabetes mellitus (DM) and non-DM patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. Methods: A total of 162 adult patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (40 DM and 122 non-DM patients) were studied with the peritoneal equilibration test (PET) using 2.5% glucose dialysis solution retained for 4 h. Patients using 2,000 or 1,500 ml of infusion volume were classified into groups A (23 DM and 63 non-DM patients) and B (16 DM and 41 non-DM patients), respectively. PET results were compared between DM and non-DM patients by unpaired t test. Using Pearson's correlation and least-square multiple regression, the most powerful predictors of UF rate were also evaluated in DM and non-DM patients. Results: There were no differences between PET parameters and UF rate between DM and non-DM patients in the whole group (WG) and group A. The only significant difference (p<0.05) was an increased D4/D0 value in DM patients in group B. The most simple but powerful method to predict UF rate was (100-GAP)/(D4/D0), where GAP corresponds to the glucose absorption percentage and D4/D0 is the PET 4-hour dialysate glucose level/PET 0-hour dialysate glucose level. GAP and D4/D0 were two major determinants of UF rate in the DM group, non-DM group and WG. Conclusions: Peritoneal permeability did not differ between DM and non-DM patients, and GAP and D4/D0 were two major factors predicting UF rate. Copyright (C) 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel.