Urea kinetics and other dialysis indices in children undergoing ambulatory peritoneal dialysis

Background. Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is an established treatment for children with end-stage renal failure. Creatinine clearance and urea kinetics are used to quantitate the dialysis treatment, but the means to assess the adequacy of dialysis in children are still controversial. Methods. We studied serum chemistry, dietary protein intake (DPI), protein catabolic rate (PCR), weekly urea clearance/body water (Kt/Vurea), weekly creatinine clearance (Ccr/week), clinical signs and symptoms during PD treatment, and peritoneal transport function in 17 children (4 to 18 years of age) with end-stage renal disease treated with PD. Fourteen children were on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) and 3 were on automated peritoneal dialysis. Results. The mean values of the parameters tested were: blood urea nitrogen, 71 mg/dl; creatinine, 9.8 mg/dl; total protein, 6.4 g/dl; albumin, 4.0 g/dl; total Ccr, 70 l/week per 1.73 m2; DPI, 1.76 g/kg per day; PCR, 1.17 g/kg per day, and total Kt/Vurea, 2.28/week. The mean patient's clinical assessment score was 11.7, out of 15 and the mean doctor's clinical assessment score was 11.7, out of 14. The correlation between Kt/Vurea and creatinine clearance was 0.84 (P < 0.0001). Kt/Vurea and clinical assessment scores (patient's and doctor's scores) did not show a good correlation (r = 0.32; P = 0.228, and r = 0.47; P = 0.064, respectively). Peritoneal function seemed to be preserved after an average duration of 32 months on PD. Conclusions. These patients appeared to be fairly well dialyzed, judging from the values for the various dialysis indices obtained in this study and comparing them with adult indices.