A comparative study of the outcome of renal transplantation in peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis patients

Fifty-four cases of renal transplantation performed in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients were compared with 48 cases in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Three immunosuppressive treatments were used: prednisolone, azathioprine and cyclosporine. Methylprednisolone was used to treat rejection, and polyclonal Atgem or monoclonal OKT3 antibodies were used if there was no response. There was no difference in sex, age, donor source, immunosuppressive regime, duration of dialysis before transplantation, or duration of follow-up between the two groups. Following transplantation, there was no significant difference in patient mortality and survival or graft survival between the groups. The incidences of infections were also similar in the two groups. PD is commonly used in developing countries as an alternative to hemodialysis for the treatment of chronic renal failure. This study has shown that renal transplantation can be successfully performed in patients treated by this method.