Abdominal Hernias in Chronic Peritoneal Dialysis Patients: A Review

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Abstract
Of 1365 patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) identified by a literature review, 174 (12.7%) developed one or more abdominal hernias. Twenty-three per cent of these hernias were inguinal, 19.1% developed at the site of catheter insertion, 18.6% were umbilical, 8.3% were ventral, 9.8% were at other incisional sites, 7.4% were at other sites, and 13.7% were unclassified. Twenty-seven (13.2%) of the hernias were strangulated or incarcerated. The incidence of abdominal hernias in 827 CAPD patients was one per 104.2 cathetermonths, with a range among dialysis centers of one hernia per 47.4 to 779.0 catheter-months. Among 436 patients on intermittent peritoneal dialysis, 12 (2.8%) developed an abdominal hernia, four times less frequently than in CAPD patients (P < 0.001).