Abstract: Objective  Exit-site infection (ESI) can increase the risk of peritonitis and technical failure. This study analyzes the correlation between peripheral blood eosinophil count(EC) and ESI. Methods Clinical data of 345 PD patients was retrospectively collected from January 2016 to December 2021. Patients were groups  by tertiles of the EC at 3 months of peritoneal dialysis catheter: low EC3M group (EC＜130cells/μL, n=110), mid EC3M group (EC=130-240cells/μL, n=115), and high EC3M group (EC≥240cells/μL, n=120). The relationship between eosinophil count and ESI, all-cause mortality, technique failure, and PD-related peritonitis was analyzed using a multifactorial COX model after adjusting for confounding factors.  Results  The age of the patients was (56.1±15.8) years old. The median follow-up duration was 38(29,46) months. The Kaplan-Meier survival curves with the log-rank test showed that there were significant differences in the risk of ESI incidence among the high, medium, and low EC3M groups (χ²=11.648, P=0.003). Post-hoc pairwise comparisons revealed that the medium EC3M group (χ²=4.313, P=0.038) and the high EC3M group (χ²=11.939, P＜0.001) had significantly higher ESI risks compared to the low EC3M group. Multivariate COX analysis revealed that after adjusting for confounding factors, the EC at three months after the operation was independently associated with ESI (HR=2.028, 95%CI 1.060-3.881, P=0.033).  Conclusion  Elevated peripheral eosinophil counts at 3 months post-PD catheterization are independently associated with ESI. Monitoring EC may aid in early identification of high-risk ESI patients.

Key words: Peritoneal dialysis, Exit-site infection, Eosinophils count, Death, Peritonitis