Why does this matter?
Pain that occurs during the draining phase of peritoneal dialysis (PD), or drain pain, is an underreported complication of PD.
PD drain pain can be in the shoulder, not just the tummy
What did this study show?
In a recent international study of over 1600 patients on PD, 28 percent had drain pain, 35 percent of whom rated their pain as severe (Aga et al, 2023).
The following factors affected the likelihood of drain pain:
- Patients aged ≥75 years were less likely to have drain pain than those aged 60-74 years
- Less frequent drain pain with straight-tipped catheters (vs coiled)
- Less frequent drain pain with laparoscopic (vs open surgical or percutaneous) catheter insertion
- More frequent drain pain with automated PD (APD) compared to continuous ambulatory PD (CAPD) but less severe pain
- More frequent drain pain in patients with polycystic kidney disease (PKD).
Importantly, amongst patients with drain pain who were on automated PD, only a minority (39 percent) used tidal PD, which often reduces or resolves drain pain.
How does it affect you?
If you are on PD, it may affect you alot. Because drain pain is common and may lead to cessation of PD, you need to encourage your renal doctors and nurses to ask about drain pain and offer appropriate interventions.
Last Reviewed on 25 September 2023