COVID-19 Pandemic and Peritonitis in Patients with ESKD on Peritoneal Dialysis

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has changed patients’ behaviors and social relationships. However, the influence of COVID-19 pandemic on the peritonitis in patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD) remains to be elucidated. Thus, we investigated the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the incidence and clinical outcome of peritonitis in end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) patients on PD. Methods: A single-center retrospective study was conducted. Medical records of all the ESKD patients on maintenance PD were reviewed from Jan 2017 to Dec 2022: clinical characteristics, prescription of PD, pathogens, hospitalization, and clinical outcome of peritonitis. We compared the incidence and clinical outcome of peritonitis three years before (2017-2019) and after COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2022). Results: A total of 572 medical records were analyzed. The incidence of PD-related peritonitis decreased after COVID-19 outbreak. The incidence of peritonitis was 0.187/patient-year in 2017-2019 and 0.120/patient-year in 2020-2022. The microbiologic features were not different. The most common pathogen of peritonitis were gram-positive bacteria. The proportion of peritonitis-related hospitalization and catheter removal associated with treatment failure did not differ between before and after COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion: This study suggests that during the COVID-19 pandemic the incidence of PD-related peritonitis was decreased whereas pathogens and hospitalization did not change.