Background: Peritoneal dialysis (PD)-related peritonitis is a major complication among children receiving PD. It leads to hospitalization, increased costs, and adverse long-term outcomes. Objective: To evaluate the effect of caregiver educational level on the incidence of peritonitis in pediatric PD patients. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted at King Saud Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, including children younger than 14 years on PD between January 2020 and December 2023. Data were collected from a structured questionnaire and electronic records. Peritonitis episodes were compared across caregiver education levels using descriptive statistics, Kruskal-Wallis, and logistic regression analysis. Results: A total of 41 children were included (61% males). Caregiver education distribution was: 9.8% illiterate, 17.1% primary, 4.9% secondary, 34.1% high school, and 34.1% university. Peritonitis incidence ranged from 0 to 10 episodes per case per year, with a median of 0.5. Children with university-educated caregivers had the lowest peritonitis rates, while those with secondary-educated caregivers showed the highest. Differences were not statistically significant. Conclusion: Caregiver education may influence peritonitis risk in pediatric PD patients, with lower education levels showing higher rates. Larger studies are needed to confirm these findings.
Sbeat et al. (Mon,) studied this question.