Peritoneal Dialysis

PD is a Therapy Option for Many Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease

What is Peritoneal Dialysis (PD)?

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) uses the lining of your own abdomen, called the peritoneal membrane, to filter and clean your blood. This lining is where peritoneal dialysis (PD) gets its name.

During peritoneal dialysis (PD), a fluid called dialysis solution (or dialysate) passes into your abdomen through a catheter. Once the dialysis fluid has flowed into your abdomen, it stays there, cleaning your blood by absorbing any waste and excess fluid.

If you’re starting dialysis, peritoneal dialysis (PD) might be one of the treatment options available to you. Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is usually done at home and can even be done while you sleep. It is also possible to do peritoneal dialysis (PD) treatments while you travel. So, it might be the right therapy if remaining mobile or having a flexible treatment schedule are important to you.

A young couple smiling and laughing with a small child

Benefits of Peritoneal Dialysis (PD)

PD is a proven home dialysis therapy. It doesn’t require the use of daily needles and is usually considered gentler on your body. Also, because PD is performed daily, the blood is cleansed more frequently.

PD may offer patients many health and lifestyle benefits and may be the right treatment for you if you work, study or travel regularly and if it suits your lifestyle and medical and physical condition.¹

Consult your clinician to determine the best dialysis option for you.

Doing PD therapy in the comfort and privacy of your own home may increase the flexibility and independence of your life on dialysis. It can save you frequent trips to the hospital or clinic and gives you more freedom to do the activities you love.¹

The equipment you need for PD therapy is also portable, making it easier to perform treatment in other locations.

There are other things you should consider when discussing PD with your clinician. You should be aware that PD, like any dialysis treatment, requires special considerations:

It will take time to get used to the feeling of performing PD. You may experience some physical symptoms, such as fullness, when you begin your treatments.
You will have to follow certain important precautions to avoid the risk of infection, which you will be taught about by your healthcare team.
You will need storage space in your home for PD supplies and equipment.
You will have a catheter implanted in your abdomen for the duration of your therapy.

Types of Peritoneal Dialysis (PD) Therapy

CAPD Therapy

Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD) is a manual form of PD. CAPD means that you "manually exchange" old solution for new solution multiple times every day. Dialysis happens continuously between 1 and 4 times per day, depending on your dialysis requirements. Each exchange takes about 20 minutes to perform.

Waste products and excess fluid can be controlled manually during the treatment process, which may reduce stress on your body. With CAPD, you may be able to eat more of the foods you enjoy and take fewer medications.

Consult your clinician to determine the best peritoneal dialysis option for you.

Man sitting in bed and reading while receiving APD

APD Therapy

Automated Peritoneal Dialysis (APD) is a form of PD done by a machine called a cycler. The cycler is programmed by your clinician to provide you with a dialysis treatment. Typically, an APD program lasts between 8 and 12 hours and is performed overnight.

APD therapy automates the delivery of dialysis solution to your body, along with draining the excess fluid and waste. Peritoneal dialysis may provide you increased flexibility with your diet and the number of medications you need to take while on dialysis.

Baxter's comprehensive PD Portfolio includes Homechoice Claria and voice-guided Amia cyclers, both enabled by Sharesource, a two-way, cloud-based digital health technology.

Consult your clinician to determine the best peritoneal dialysis option for you.

Learn about the Amia System Learn about the Homechoice Claria System

digital illustration of a closeup of hands holding a tablet and managing their ADP with remote connectivity

Remote Patient Management (RPM) with APD Therapy

Remote Patient Management (RPM) allows your clinician to follow your completed treatments and ensure you are on the right track, which may increase your confidence about doing your treatment at home.²

If your APD cycler has Remote Patient Management capabilities (RPM), it can collect accurate information about your home treatments daily and send it to your clinician at the hospital or clinic. Your clinician can monitor your therapy progress, change your machine programs remotely and discuss any problems you are having over the phone.

Learn about RPM with Sharesource

Remote Patient Management (RPM) allows your clinician to manage your disease while you’re doing treatment at home. If there are any issues during your treatment, your APD cycler will collect data related to this issue, which can then be reviewed by your clinician. The information your cycler sends to the clinic will help them decide on any changes to your treatment. You can feel confident managing your treatment at home knowing that your clinician is able to track and adjust your treatment using RPM.² You will still need to contact your clinician or cycler manufacturer to address concerns during treatment that cannot wait until the morning.

It is important to note that not all cyclers have Remote Patient Management (RPM) capabilities. Your clinician will let you know what is available to you at your dialysis clinic.

Learn More About Peritoneal Dialysis

Diagram of a PD exchange: drain, fill, dwell

How PD Works

Peritoneal dialysis is carried out through a catheter placed in the abdomen, where you exchange old solution for new solution.

Drain

The used and saturated solution inside the abdomen is drained. This solution contains waste and excess fluid.

Fill

After the abdomen is drained of the old solution, new dialysis solution is put in through the catheter to fill up the peritoneal cavity, which is located in the abdomen.

Dwell

When the new solution has been filled, the tubing and bags are removed. You wear only a short tubing set covered with a cap and can continue your normal activities. During this dwell period of time, the dialysis solution stays in the peritoneal cavity. This is when the dialysis occurs and the solution is collecting the waste and excess fluid from your body.

A doctor holding a tablet and explaining a woman something on the screen

Learning to Perform PD

The idea of performing peritoneal dialysis (PD) at home may make you feel anxious, but it is actually quite a manageable process. Almost everybody can perform peritoneal dialysis (PD) with proper training. In most cases, this will usually require between 2 and 5 days of training, depending on what type of PD therapy you choose.³

Setting up your treatment area
Caring for your catheter exit-site
Performing PD treatment
Washing your hands to ensure safe handling of PD solutions
Storing and ordering supplies for treatment
Keeping manual treatment logs (if necessary)
Measuring your own blood pressure, pulse, temperature and weight
Recognizing and reporting problems with your treatment
Managing your diet and fluid intake

You will not have to perform at-home peritoneal dialysis (PD) by yourself until you and your clinician feel that you are ready. Even after this, you will not be alone with your treatment – always remember that your healthcare team is ready to support you at any time.

While performing peritoneal dialysis (PD) at home, you will still have regular appointments with your healthcare team and will be able to ask them questions about your treatment or about how to get connected with other resources that can help.

Additional Resources

Close up image of a patient being reassured by a physician

Baxter Empowers

We invite you to increase your understanding of what the kidneys do and what happens when they begin to fail, as well as review Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) treatment options and the different types of dialysis available to you. Click the link below to visit our Baxter Empowers site and learn more from a variety of online educational tools.

Baxter Empowers

December 7, 2022

Programming Using Sharesource

December 1, 2022

Ending therapy on Claria

December 1, 2022

Programming Using Clinician Menu

References

Francois K, Bargman J. Evaluating the benefits of home-based peritoneal dialysis. International Journal of Nephrology and Renovascular Disease. 2014:7.
Wood E. Remote monitoring of peritoneal dialysis: evaluating the impact of the Claria Sharesource system. Journal of Kidney Care, Vol. 4, No. 1, January 2019.
Figueiredo A et al. ISPD Guidelines/Recommendations: A Syllabus for Teaching Peritoneal Dialysis to Patients and Caregivers. Peritoneal Dialysis International. Vol. 36, pp. 592–605.

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