Peritoneal Dialysis

Background

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is a modality of renal replacement therapy using a patient’s peritoneal cavity and extensive capillary vasculature as a dialysis membrane. The concept is exactly the same as hemodialysis (HD); both involve the transport of solutes and water across a membrane that separates two fluid-containing compartments. In HD the dialyzer is the membrane, whereas in PD the peritoneal lining is the membrane. This form of dialysis consists of three processes that occur simultaneously—diffusion, ultrafiltration, and fluid absorption. See Chapter 33: Hemodialysis for more details about that procedure.