ObjectiveTo investigate the status of exit-site care in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis, and analyze the relationship between exit-site care practice and exit-site infection.MethodsThe patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis in Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University between January and October 2019 were recruited by convenience sampling method. The Exit-site Schaefer Scale was used to diagnose the occurrence of exit-site infection. According to the guidelines of the International Society of Peritoneal Dialysis and relevant research, a questionnaire was developed to investigate the status of exit-site care in all peritoneal dialysis patients. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the influence of care practice on exit-site infection.ResultsA total of 208 peritoneal dialysis patients were recruited. There were 39 patients with (totally 43 times of) exit-site infections, with an exit-site infection incidence of 0.06 episodes per patient-year. The main bacteria were Staphylococcus aureus (30.2%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (16.3%). Of the 39 infected patients, 8 (20.5%) had peritonitis and 3 (7.7%) had been infected more than once. The exit-site Schaefer score of the 208 patients was 3.14±2.75. Of the 208 patients, 204 (98.1%) had received training of exit-site care from nurses, 166 (79.8%) could wash their hands and wear masks as required, 196 (94.2%) covered dressings on the exit site, and 184 (88.5%) fixed catheters, but the application of antibiotic ointment did not follow the latest guidelines. The logistic regression analysis revealed that the history of redness and swelling at the exit site [odds ratio (OR)=7.926, 95% confidence interval (CI) (2.367, 26.535), P=0.001] and the history of traction-associated bleeding [OR=5.750, 95%CI (1.878, 17.610), P=0.002] were risk factors of exit-site infection.ConclusionsExit-site infection is common in peritonealdialysis patients. Most patients can perform the exit-site care as required, but the care content is yet to be updated. Nursing staff should improve the training content according to the latest guidelines, strengthen the exit-site assessment, follow-up, and retraining, treat the redness and swelling at the exit site timely, and tell the patients to pay attention to catheter fixation and avoiding excessive traction, to prevent the exit-site infection and the further development of peritonitis.