Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2003 Nov-Dec;23(6):580-6.

Influence of climate on the incidence of peritoneal dialysis-related peritonitis

Cheuk-Chun Szeto  1 , Kai-Ming Chow, Teresa Yuk-Hwa Wong, Chi-Bon Leung, Philip Kam-Tao Li
Affiliations
  • PMID: 14703200

Influence of climate on the incidence of peritoneal dialysis-related peritonitis

Cheuk-Chun Szeto et al. Perit Dial Int. 2003 Nov-Dec.

Abstract

Objective: The use of peritoneal dialysis has expanded in many developing subtropical countries; however, the role of climatic factors in dialysis-related peritonitis has not been studied in detail.

Design: Retrospective study.

Setting: A single regional dialysis unit in a university teaching hospital.

Patients: We reviewed all cases of dialysis-related peritonitis treated in our dialysis unit from January 1995 to December 2001. Information was collected on demographic data, microbiologic etiology, associated catheter exit-site infection, and clinical response.

Results: In 24,059 patient-months of follow-up, 1344 episodes of peritonitis were recorded. There were significantly more peritonitis episodes in July and August [odds ratio 1.17, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03-1.32], and fewer peritonitis episodes in December (odds ratio 0.79, 95% CI 0.61-0.98). There was also a trend of more peritonitis in March (odds ratio 1.18, 95% CI 0.97-1.41), but the difference was not statistically significant. When the incidence of peritonitis caused by individual bacterial species was further analyzed, we found a significant seasonal variation in the rate of peritonitis caused by gram-negative bacteria, except Pseudomonas (overall chi-square test, p = 0.002). A similar trend of seasonal variation was also observed in gram-positive peritonitis, but the result was not statistically significant. There was significant seasonal variation in the rate of peritonitis that had coexisting exit-site infection (overall chi-square test, p = 0.02), with peak incidence in July. However, the proportion of peritonitis that had coexisting exit-site infection did not have significant seasonal variation. There was significant correlation between monthly peritonitis rate and average humidity (r = -0.346, p < 0.002) and temperature (r = -0.264, p = 0.015).

Conclusions: There is substantial seasonal variation in the incidence of dialysis-related peritonitis, with peak incidence in the months that are hot and humid. Keeping a cool and dry living environment may help to reduce peritonitis in peritoneal dialysis patients in tropical countries.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types