Historical Misconceptions In Peritoneal Dialysis

In the long history of medicine, scientific assumptions based on pathophysiological mechanisms, case reports of a number of interesting cases, authority statements and tradition have often been the guides of clinical practice, but have never been scientifically substantiated. As a result, many perceptions in medicine, although wrong, were popular and resistant to change. Some of these appeared in the history of Peritoneal Dialysis (PD). Their understanding changed the course of the method and -perhaps more importantly- the future of its patients. The scepticism surrounding the introduction of continuous ambulatory PD as we know it today and the "flush before fill" system, the supposed worse outcomes in high transporters aiming towards high dialysis doses and the inappropriate twice daily use of icodextrin were some of the misconceptions that were eventually revised. In conclusion, several breakthroughs in the history of PD, at first disapproved, changed the application and future of the method.