• L Vale, J Cody, S Wallace, C Daly, M Campbell, A Grant, I Khan, C Donaldson, and A MacLeod.
• Health Economics Research Unit/Health Services Research Unit, University of Aberdeen, Medical School Building, Foresterhill, Aberdeen, UK, AB25 2ZD.
• Cochrane Db Syst Rev. 2003 Jan 1 (1): CD003963.

BackgroundRenal replacement therapy (RRT) with dialysis and transplantation is the only means of sustaining life for patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Although transplantation is the treatment of choice, the number of donor kidneys are limited and transplants may fail. Hence many patients require long-term or even life-long dialysis. Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) is an alternative to hospital or home haemodialysis for patients with ESRD.ObjectivesTo assess the benefits and harms of CAPD versus hospital or home haemodialysis for adults with ESRD.Search StrategyWe searched the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register (Cochrane Library, Issue 2, 2002), the Cochrane Renal Group's Specialised Register (May 2002), MEDLINE (1966 - May 2002), EMBASE (1980 - May 2002), BIOSIS, CINHAL, SIGLE and NRR without language restriction. Reference lists of retrieved articles and conference proceedings were searched and known investigators and biomedical companies were contacted.Selection CriteriaRandomised controlled trials (RCTs) or quasi-RCTs comparing CAPD to hospital or home haemodialysis for adults with ESRD were to be included.Data Collection And AnalysisTwo reviewers were to independently assess the methodological quality of studies. Data was to be abstracted from included studies onto a standard form by one reviewer and checked by another. Statistical analyses were to be performed using the random effects model and the results to be expressed as relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI).Main ResultsDespite extensive searching, no RCTs or quasi-RCTs were identified.Reviewer's ConclusionsData are not available to allow conclusions to be drawn about the relative effectiveness of CAPD compared with hospital or home haemodialysis for adults with ESRD. Efforts should be made to start and complete adequately powered RCTs, which compare the different dialysis modalities.

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