The aetiological factors and the pathophysiological mechanisms of encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis (EPS) have not been fully elucidated. We present a patient on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis whose peritoneal catheter was exchanged due to repeated episodes of bacterial peritonitis. Immediately afterwards, he experienced severe abdominal pain, nausea and fever. Peritoneal biopsy, taken 12 days after the operation, revealed fibrotic thickening of the peritoneum and a foreign body inflammatory reaction to particles manifesting striking similarity to the Dacron fibres of the catheter cuff. Shedding of Dacron fibres into the peritoneum may have elicited the acute fulminant phase of the EPS diagnosed in this case.
Keywords: Dacron cuff; encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis; foreign body reaction; peritoneal dialysis.