I have been a PD patient both in the UK and US. In the UK patients do not wear masks when connecting and disconnecting, in the US, the guidelines are that they do. The only difference that I can see is that in the UK patients are provided with sterile disposable connection shields with povidone iodine soaked foam in them that remain on during the dialysis process. I must admit that I do not wear the mask, have been dialysing for six years and have had no infection issues.
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Questions About PD
I have been a PD patient both in the UK and US. In the UK patients do not wear masks when connecting and disconnecting, in the US, the guidelines are that they do. The only difference that I can see is that in the UK patients are provided with sterile disposable connection shields with povidone iodine soaked foam in them that remain on during the dialysis process. I must admit that I do not wear the mask, have been dialysing for six years and have had no infection issues.
1 answer
I once asked the late PD expert, Barbara Prowant, about the need for masks. While she admitted there is no hard evidence on this practice, she told me anecdotally they noticed a higher incidence of s aureus peritonitis in patients who did not mask, presumably from nasal s aureus. I think the connection systems have improved significantly from the early days of PD, and if you are not colonized with nasal s aureus and you follow meticulous technique, you will likely be OK in the privacy of your home. In any other setting, such as a hospital, I would use the mask.
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