Efficacy and outcomes of continuous peritoneal dialysis versus daily intermittent hemodialysis in pediatric acute kidney injury

Acute kidney injury (AKI) requiring renal replacement therapy (RRT) is associated with high patient morbidity and mortality. There is no consensus on the best RRT modality for pediatric AKI.

The efficacy and safety of continuous peritoneal dialysis (cPD) and daily intermittent hemodialysis (dHD) were compared in 136 children aged 1 month to 16 years requiring RRT for AKI. Mortality, risk factors and causes of death, 1-month and 3-month renal recovery rates, and technique-related complications were assessed.

Uremia control and the rate of catheter-related complications were comparable in the groups. Thirty-day survival was 60.7 % (51 out of 84) with cPD and 36.5 % (19 out of 52) with dHD (p = 0.019). Although age <1 year, extended time lag from disease onset to RRT initiation, mechanical ventilation, and extended vasopressor dependence independently predicted death, adjusted mortality was higher with dHD relative to cPD (hazard ratio [HR] 1.75, 95%CI 1.18–2.84, p = 0.022). Almost all fatalities in the dHD group (94 %) occurred during or within an hour of a HD session. Renal function normalized in 27 % of survivors after 4 weeks and in 51 % after 3 months. The risk of permanent end-stage renal disease was increased in patients with an intrinsic renal cause of AKI (HR 2.72; 95 % CI 1.37–3.83; p = 0.029) and in those with delayed RRT initiation (HR 2.17; 95 % CI 123–2.93; p = 0.015), but did not differ between patients treated with dHD and cPD.

Favorable patient survival with cPD compared with dHD in children treated for AKI was evident in this study.