What are the signs of peritonitis in peritoneal dialysis patients?

Peritonitis is the most serious complication of peritoneal dialysis, presenting with cloudy dialysate effluent, which is the earliest and most reliable sign. Other signs include abdominal pain and tenderness, fever, nausea, and rebound tenderness. The effluent should be sent for culture and cell count, with white blood cell count above 100 per microliter with at least 50 percent neutrophils confirming the diagnosis. Treatment includes intraperitoneal antibiotics added to the dialysate.