Late presentation of encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis following renal transplantation and the potential under-reporting of the incidence and prevalence of encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis

Encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis is an infrequent but potentially devastating complication of peritoneal dialysis. The reported incidence and prevalence of encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis vary markedly between countries. Currently, peritoneal dialysis vintage remains the major risk factor for encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis, and dialysis vintage differs between countries due to the relative competing risks of transplantation, availability of haemodialysis and peritonitis. However, the diagnosis of encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis is often only established when patients have transferred modality to transplantation or haemodialysis. Switching treatment modality may potentially lead to an under-reporting of encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis, as many countries which collect data on dialysis patients in national registries often have separate registries for dialysis and transplant patients, and this may potentially lead to under-reporting of encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis in patients presenting after renal transplantation. Secondly, the question arises as to how long former peritoneal dialysis patients should be followed before a diagnosis of encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis can be confidently excluded. To highlight this point, we present four cases that developed symptomatic encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis more than 5 years, and in once case more than 10 years after the discontinuation of peritoneal dialysis. Delayed or late presentation may not only delay the diagnosis, but also risk surgical interventions by non-specialists. A more robust system is required to record cases of encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis to determine the incidence and prevalence, and so provide accurate information to both patients and clinicians as to the risks of long-term peritoneal dialysis therapy.