Continuous Cycling Peritoneal Dialysis

Continuous Cycling Peritoneal Dialysis (CCPD) is very similar to CAPD, however, in this case, the exchanges are performed at night while the patient sleeps. To facilitate this process the patient is hooked up to an automatic cycling machine. This machine makes several evenly spaced exchanges during the night and a final one just before the patient gets up in the morning. During the day either one exchange or no exchanges are made. An advantage of CCPD is that the likelihood of infection caused by improper handling of the dialysis equipment is reduced. With only one hook-up per day rather than four or five there is less chance that the patient will introduce some bacteria into the peritoneal cavity; thus the likelihood of peritonitis is reduced. On the other hand, it is necessary for the patient to be attached to a machine during the night hours while the CAPD patient remains totally machine free.

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