Cytotoxic Glucose Degradation Products in Fluids for Peritoneal Dialysis

During the standard heat sterilization process of the lactate-buffered peritoneal dialysis solutions, glucose (an osmotic active substance) degrades to form compounds called glucose degradation products which are cytotoxic and affect the survival of the peritoneal membrane. This case presentation is based on an observation of 224 aseptic peritonitis cases of unknown etiology. For the purpose of clarification, we analyzed the peritoneal dialysis solutions for the presence of acetaldehyde by using a developed and validated high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) pre-column derivitazation. The method was validated with respect to validation factors such as linearity, precision, recovery and (LOD). The acetaldehyde level of solutions before heat sterilization was 1.78 ± 2.7 ppm whereas in samples after heat sterilization was about 20 ± 2.07 ppm. Based on the forementioned findings, we hypothesized that the higher levels of acetaldehyde and possibly the other glucose degradation products may have been an etiological factor in these 224 cases of chemical peritonitis. So it is important for the manufacturers to carefully review the heat of sterilization process in the production line.