Background: There are numerous causes of liver function disorder in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD). Infection with the Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a rare cause of liver injury, and the behavior of HEV in patients with PD is unclear. Since patients undergoing dialysis are frequently polypharmatic, liver injury caused by HEV infection may be misdiagnosed as drug-induced liver injury. Case Presentation: A 61-year-old woman with PD developed abrupt elevation of blood transaminase levels on a routine outpatient session. Since the patient has been receiving tolvaptan as the only new medication, we suspected tolvaptan induced liver injury. In further investigating the cause of liver injury, the blood screening test was found to be positive for HEV-IgA. The patient was diagnosed with HEV infection, and had a self-limited course. Conclusion: When encountered with patients developing liver injury during PD, HEV infection should be included in the differential diagnosis.

Background: Tolvaptan is the first effective drug treatment for autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) patients, but few long-term observations of the effects of tolvaptan have been reported. Methods: In this single center, retrospective cohort study, we investigated nine patients who participated in a phase 3 trial of tolvaptan for ADPKD patients at our hospital between 2008 and 2014. Six of the patients discontinued tolvaptan at the end of the clinical trial and were defined as the discontinuation group, and three continued to take it; these were defined as the continuation group. The observation period was 3 years before and after the end of the tolvaptan trial, and we compared the following data in each group: serum creatinine, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), total kidney volume, serum sodium concentration, and urine specific gravity.Results: eGFR was significantly improved after the end of the trial in the continuation group (P = 0.0446), but there was no significant change in the regression line before and after the end of the trial in the discontinuation group. The increases in mean total kidney volume rates over the 3 years before and after the trial were 0.01 %/year vs. 0.067 %/year in the discontinuation group (P = 0.0247). On the other hand, serum sodium concentration and urine specific gravity showed no change during the observation period. Conclusion:This study suggested that long-term administration of tolvaptan may improve renal function and inhibit total kidney volume growth.

Introduction Peritonitis is a crucial complication that leads to hospitalization or even death in patients who are undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD). The incidence of PD-related peritonitis associated with nontuberculous mycobacteria has increased in recent years. However, a well-established treatment for peritonitis is lacking, particularly in peritonitis caused by Mycobacterium abscessus which is a difficult to treat disease due to its inherent resistance to majority of available antibiotics. To the best of our knowledge, this case is the first to report on intraperitoneal multiple nodules that developed due to PD-related peritonitis caused by M. abscessus. Case presentation This case reported a case of a 40-year-old female patient who was undergoing PD and who showed multiple intraperitoneal nodules that resembled peritoneal cancer on computed tomography (CT) and that developed after PD-related peritonitis and catheter removal. After multiantibiotic therapy, multiple nodules were found to have disappeared on CT. The nodules continued to disappear and the patient did not show signs of recurrent peritonitis, although there was a possibility of recurrence. Conclusion To the best of our knowledge, this case is the first to report on nodules that resembled peritoneal cancer and that developed in the abdominal cavity due to PD-related peritonitis caused by M. abscessus. Positron emission tomography–CT was not useful in distinguishing peritoneal cancer from nodules caused by M. abscessus.

Background The Japanese population is aging quickly. New methods of supporting peritoneal dialysis (PD) for elderly patients are essential if we are to increase the number of such patients. Methods We established a two-way communication system between a central hospital and stations for visiting nurses. Home care nurses provided physicians at the central hospital with clinical findings for patients undergoing assisted PD. We compared 11 patients undergoing PD assisted by home care nurses in continuous interactive communication with the central hospital (cases) with 11 patients undergoing unassisted PD who were matched by sex, primary disease, estimated glomerular filtration rate at the start of PD, and age at the start of PD (controls). The variables compared were hospitalization due to heart failure, exit-site infection, peritonitis, and the composite of these causes during a 1-year period. In addition, we compared patient clinical factors between groups. Results Although differences in the number of hospitalizations attributable to exit-site infection, peritonitis, and heart failure were not significant, the difference in the number of hospitalizations attributable to a composite of these causes was significant. Exit-site scores were significantly better in the case group than in the control group. Conclusions PD assisted by home care nurses using an established continuous interactive communication system was associated with significantly better exit-site scores. Fewer cases than controls were hospitalized.