Impact of fill volume on ultrafiltration with icodextrin in children on chronic peritoneal dialysis

Icodextrin is a solution of glucose polymers developed to provide sustained ultrafiltration over an extended dwell. Our aim was to determine whether or not fill volume with icodextrin contributes to the ability to achieve ultrafiltration in children. The charts of all children on chronic peritoneal dialysis between January 2000 and July 2014 were screened for the use of an icodextrin day dwell. Data were extracted from the electronic chart and the HomeChoice (TM) Pro card and corrected for body surface area (BSA). Fifty children had an icodextrin day dwell. A linear correlation was found between the daytime fill volume and net ultrafiltration (p < 0.001). More ultrafiltration was achieved with a fill volume above 550 ml/m(2) BSA (107 +/- 75 ml/m(2) BSA) than with smaller fill volumes (-8 +/- 99 ml; p = 0.004). Ultrafiltration was achieved in 88 % of children with a fill volume above 550 ml/m(2) BSA versus only 44 % of patients with a smaller fill volume (p = 0.001). Icodextrin was well tolerated. Our observations reveal that the larger the fill volume the higher the likelihood of achieving ultrafiltration with icodextrin and suggest that a minimum day dwell volume of 550 ml/m(2) BSA seems to facilitate ultrafiltration in children. To our knowledge this is the largest study addressing ultrafiltration with icodextrin in children.