Complications of intermittent peritoneal dialysis.

Two hundred and ninety three sessions of intermittent peritoneal dialysis were carried in 158 cases of renal failure between 1984 and 1987. The complications encountered during the procedure were grouped as mechanical in 29 (17.9%), circulatory in 26 (15%), neurologic in 21 (13.4%) and biochemical in 54 (34.1%) cases. Unexplained respiratory arrest with spontaneous recovery occurred in 2, infections in 5 and miscellaneous complications in 19 (12%) cases. Bradycardia and cardiac standstill were observed in one patient. Most of the complications were managed uneventfully. There was no mortality.