Abstract
Objective
To assess the efficacy of wearing a face mask to prevent peritonitis during continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) bag exchange.
Setting
Renal unit at a university hospital.
Patients
Two groups of patients on CAPD were compared: those performing bag exchange with (n = 24) and those without a face mask (n = 40).
Outcomes
Occurrence of first episode of peritonitis and total number of episodes.
Results
No difference was found between groups with respect to probability of developing the first episode of peritonitis (p = 0.757). Patients holding university degrees had evidence of protection, with borderline significance [relative risk (RR) 0.52; confidence interval (CI) 95%, 0.23 – 1.18; p = 0.109]. Cox's proportional hazard regression analysis also demonstrated a significant protective factor for patients with university level education (RR 0.42; CI 95%, 0.18 – 0.98; p = 0.04). Incidence of peritonitis was not significantly different between groups: with-mask group had 1.0 episode/year, and without-mask group had 0.94 episodes/year. Staphylococcus epidermidis was the most commonly identified agent. Staphylococcus aureus was found more frequently in the with-mask group (p = 0.003). Peritonitis due to Streptococcus viridans and Enterococci were detected only in the without-mask group.
Conclusion
The current study suggests that routine use of face masks during CAPD bag exchanges may be unnecessary and could be discontinued.
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