Short daily peritoneal dialysis

Data from experiments which were designed to assess the suitability of a short daily peritoneal dialysis schedule (performed without any mechanical equipment), and to evaluate the adequate protein caloric needs of patients receiving such a treatment schedule are presented. Adequate life and rehabilitation can be maintained in patients on peritoneal dialysis of only 3 to 4 hr duration each day in which as little as 6 l of dialysate are used. Patients can choose at will when they wish to be dialyzed, and very little help is required. None of the patients wanted to go to hemodialysis. They felt much more free without the intrusion of what one might call the machine dependency emotional syndrome. The authors' experience, gained from 949 short daily dialyses without machinery and under controlled dietary protein supply, offers further support for the wider application of this schedule. In the present follow up, satisfactory life and good nutritional status were well maintained, at least in the light of current indexes for the evaluation of treatment schedules in terminal renal failure. Short daily peritoneal dialysis may even offer greater clinical potential than does hemodialysis, even when the latter is performed under conditions of short duration and increased frequency.