Pulmonary function tests were done in seven CAPD patients with acute peritonitis on the day of admission to the hospital and after recovery. Subsequently, the effect of dialysate infusion alone on lung function was studied in 19 patients initiated on CAPD and nine of these patients were restudied 7.6 +/- 4.1 months later. Peritonitis was associated with a 30% reduction in vital capacity and a significant fall in arterial oxygen tension (7 to 11 mmHg) (p less than 0.01). Dialysate infusion alone decreased functional residual capacity (FRC) and produced small changes in PaO2 which were more pronounced in the supine position. The decrease in PaO2 observed in changing from sitting prior to dialysate infusion, to supine after dialysate infusion was due to the development of airways closure at resting lung volumes. Follow-up studies in nine patients demonstrated a continued and significant fall in FRC with dialysate infusion, without however, any changes in PaO2. We conclude that peritonitis in CAPD patients is accompanied by significant changes in lung function which are probably due to a decrease in diaphragmatic mobility resulting in atelectasis and underventilation of dependent lung zones. In CAPD patients without peritonitis, dialysate infusion in the supine position produces significant changes in PaO2, but with time, compensatory mechanisms develop to abolish the changes in PaO2.