Sympathetic skin response in the patients on peritoneal dialysis and Hemodialysis: A comparative study

Autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction such as postural hypotension, impotence and ventricular arrhythmia are common problems in uremic patients. It is thought that they are due to retained uremic toxins that lead to neuronal damage. Sympathetic skin response is a non-invasive and simple examination of Autonomic nervous system. In his study 30 patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) and 30 patients on hemodialysis (HD) were allocated and Sympathetic skin response (SSR) study was performed in these two groups. SSR was intact in 22 of PD patients (73.3%), while it was detectable only in 4 patients (13.3%) on HD (P<0/001). We concluded that sympathetic nervous system impairment was more prominent in HD than CAPD patients. It would be because of better clearance of middle molecule toxins with moderate molecular weight in peritoneal dialysis.