Short-Term Biological Effects of a New and Less Acidic Fluid for Peritoneal Dialysis

BACKGROUND: Conventional peritoneal dialysates are potentially bioincompatible and seem to be a causative factor for peritoneal sclerosis. Recent studies demonstrated that a new type of dialysate has a positive long-term clinical effect on dialysis patients. METHODS: In this study, to elucidate the short-term biological effects of a newly developed dialysate of higher pH on the peritoneal membrane, we assessed macrophage proportions and several markers (inflammatory cytokines, cancer antigen 125 (CA125) and albumin) in spent dialysates before and 2 weeks after the change to the new fluid from a conventional fluid. RESULTS: We found that the use of the new dialysate decreased intraperitoneal levels of inflammatory cytokines, CA125 and albumin associated with the decrease of macrophage populations in dialysis effluents. CONCLUSION: These observations suggest that a new and less acidic fluid reduces pro-inflammatory potential in the peritoneum, and thus affords better preservation of peritoneal membrane integrity in uremic patients on peritoneal dialysis.