Clinical outcomes of systemic lupus erythematosus patients undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis

Objectives. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcome of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). Methods. Eighteen SLE patients who had been undergoing CAPD for at least 3 months in our unit were compared with 36 other age- and gender-matched non-diabetic CAPD patients with an underlying primary chronic glomerulonephritis (CGn). The clinical outcome, infective complications, lupus activities, biochemical parameters, haemoglobin level and the use of erythropoietin were reviewed. Results. The duration of dialysis of the two studied groups was not different, with a mean of 35.4 months for the SLE group and 36.7 months for the CGn group. Before dialysis, SLE patients had a significantly lower albumin level (30.4±6.6 vs 35.4±5.59 g/dl, P