Utility of Scintigraphy in Assessment of Noninfectious Complications of Peritoneal Dialysis.
Dialysis is an artificial process to remove waste products and excess water from the body in patients with kidney failure. Two main types of dialysis are available. Hemodialysis, which uses an artificial filtration apparatus, is usually done at specialized centers but can be done in a patient's home. Peritoneal dialysis functions by placing dialysis fluid, also called dialysate, into the peritoneal cavity, allowing for solute to be removed from the peritoneal capillaries through diffusion across a chemical gradient into the dialysate and removal of water through an osmotic gradient created by hypertonic dextrose. Peritoneal dialysis can be either automated, which is done with the help of a machine called a cycler, or continuous ambulatory, which is a process involving multiple exchanges a day and is performed using only gravity to infuse and drain the solution from the peritoneal cavity. For many reasons, the number of people using home dialysis has recently started to rise, with the largest increase in the United States occurring after the implementation of the prospective bundled payment system for end-stage renal disease. With the increased use of home dialysis, potential complications will increase as well. It is imperative that our health-care system be poised not only to increase the number of home dialysis patients but also to diagnose and manage any complications. Nuclear imaging is a commonly available modality to detect various complications related to peritoneal dialysis. In this review article, we discuss the role of peritoneal scintigraphy in detecting some noninfectious peritoneal dialysis complications, with emphasis on scintigraphy technique; imaging time points; the role of planar, SPECT, and SPECT/CT imaging; and the clinical indications, with illustrative case examples.