What can we do with sodium retention in peritoneal dialysis patients?

Salt intake in XXI century in an average person exceeds 10-15 grams per day. The key organ responsible for sodium regulation is kidney and renal failure patients present with positive sodium balance. In peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients rising hypertension is often connected with volume overload and sodium retention. The reasons for inadequate sodium removal in PD patients are: too small gradient between standard 134 mmol/l sodium PD solutions, sodium seiving effect and lack of residual renal function. APD patients are at higher risk of sodium overload in comparison to CAPD ones. As it has been shown that a degree of sodium removal correlates with survival, sodium management appears to be crucial in these patients. The concept of low sodium solutions has been developed over the years with single-dwell ultra-low solutions and recently with low sodium balance solution given as a continuous treatment in CAPD patients. Preliminary results show that low sodium solutions may be a safe and viable option of treatment of PD patients with sodium and fluid overload.