Abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) is reported as a predictor for cardiovascular events in general population and in hemodialysis patients. At present, there are no AAC data in peritoneal dialysis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic role of AAC score on cardiovascular events in peritoneal dialysis patients. Seventy‐four peritoneal dialysis patients were enrolled. AAC was measured on baseline lateral abdomen radiographs by the semi‐quantitative method as described by Kauppila. The other cardiovascular risk factors were obtained from patient history and blood examination. The Kaplan–Meier method was used to evaluate freedom from cardiovascular events, and differences were assessed with the log‐rank statistic. Multivariate Cox regression models addressed time to cardiovascular events. The median period of follow‐up was 30.5 months (IQR 19.4–32.7). During follow‐up, there were 29 cardiovascular events (39.2%). In univariable analysis, patient's age (HR = 1.050; P = 0.001), urine output (HR = 0.999; P = 0.02), and AAC stratified by tertiles (overall P‐value < 0.001) were significantly associated with cardiovascular events. In multivariable regression analysis, AAC score stratified by tertiles was the only independent predictor for cardiovascular events (overall P‐value <0.001). To our knowledge, we have shown for the first time that AAC score is an independent predictor of cardiovascular events in peritoneal dialysis patients. Risk stratification by assessment of AAC score may provide important information for the management of cardiovascular disease in peritoneal dialysis patients without any additional expense, because these patients have several abdominal X‐ray scans to evaluate the catheter position.

The maternofetal outcomes in patients with kidney transplantation are comparable with those of nontransplanted CKD patients with similar levels of kidney function impairment and progressive and/or immunologic kidney disease.

The peritoneal catheter should be a permanent and safe access to the peritoneal cavity. Catheter-related problems are often the cause of permanent transfer to hemodialysis (HD) in up to 20% of peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients; in some cases, these problems require a temporary period on HD. Advances in connectology have reduced the incidence of peritonitis, and so catheter-related complications during PD have become a major concern. In the last few years, novel techniques have emerged in the field of PD: new dialysis solutions, better connectology, and cyclers for automated PD. However, extracorporeal dialysis has continued to improve in terms of methods and patient survival, but PD has failed to do so. The main reason is that peritoneal access has remained problematical. The peritoneal catheter is the major obstacle to widespread use of PD. Overcoming catheter-related problems means giving a real chance to development of the peritoneal technique. Catheters should be as efficient, safe, and acceptable as possible. Since its introduction in the mid-1960s, the Tenckhoff catheter has not become obsolete: dozens of new models have been proposed, but none has significantly reduced the predominance of the first catheter. No convincing prospective data demonstrate the superiority of any peritoneal catheter, and so it seems that factors other than choice of catheter are what affect survival and complication rates. Efforts to improve peritoneal catheter survival and complication rates should probably focus on factors other than the choice of catheter. The present article provides an overview of the characteristics of the best-known peritoneal catheters.

Dislocation of peritoneal dialysis catheters is one of the major causes of technique failure. We evaluated 701 Vicenza catheters, implanted since 1985 in 365 males, mean age 53 ± 16 yrs, range 24 - 87, and 336 females, mean age 51 ± 17 yrs, range 21 - 82. The Vicenza catheter is defined “short” since it consists of a classic straight double cuff PD catheter having however an inner segment (the portion located in the peritoneal cavity) much shorter than any other type of catheter. It is implanted in the lower abdomen, just a few centimeters above the pubis. The analysis of our results obtained in a large PD population displayed good device survival at 2 and 5 years (94.3% and 91.5% respectively), a low dislocation rate (4%) and an exit-site infection rate similar to other double cuffed catheters. There was no selection of patients receiving this catheter since from 1985 we have used this catheter in every incident patient. Due to its lower implantation site this catheter demonstrates excellent wearability and good body image acceptance.

Pregnancy after transplantation has a higher risk of adverse outcomes compared with the general population. Over time, the incidence of SGA babies decreased while the incidence of 'early preterm' babies increased. Although acknowledging the differences in therapy (cyclosporine versus tacrolimus) and in maternal age (significantly increased), the decrease in SGA and the increase in prematurity may be explained by an obstetric policy favouring earlier delivery against the risk of foetal growth restriction.