Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) requiring renal replacement therapy (RRT) is associated with high patient morbidity and mortality. There is no consensus on the best RRT modality for pediatric AKI.
Methods: The efficacy and safety of continuous peritoneal dialysis (cPD) and daily intermittent hemodialysis (dHD) were compared in 136 children aged 1 month to 16 years requiring RRT for AKI. Mortality, risk factors and causes of death, 1-month and 3-month renal recovery rates, and technique-related complications were assessed.
Results: Uremia control and the rate of catheter-related complications were comparable in the groups. Thirty-day survival was 60.7 % (51 out of 84) with cPD and 36.5 % (19 out of 52) with dHD (p = 0.019). Although age <1 year, extended time lag from disease onset to RRT initiation, mechanical ventilation, and extended vasopressor dependence independently predicted death, adjusted mortality was higher with dHD relative to cPD (hazard ratio [HR] 1.75, 95%CI 1.18-2.84, p = 0.022). Almost all fatalities in the dHD group (94 %) occurred during or within an hour of a HD session. Renal function normalized in 27 % of survivors after 4 weeks and in 51 % after 3 months. The risk of permanent end-stage renal disease was increased in patients with an intrinsic renal cause of AKI (HR 2.72; 95 % CI 1.37-3.83; p = 0.029) and in those with delayed RRT initiation (HR 2.17; 95 % CI 123-2.93; p = 0.015), but did not differ between patients treated with dHD and cPD.
Conclusions: Favorable patient survival with cPD compared with dHD in children treated for AKI was evident in this study.
Keywords: Continuous peritoneal dialysis; Daily intermittent hemodialysis; Pediatric acute kidney injury.