Malnutrition: detection and intervention.

Malnutrition is common in patients with renal failure. Causes of malnutrition in this population are varied and sometimes specific to the method of renal replacement therapy. No single marker absolutely identifies malnutrition or tracks changes in status. Renal dietitians use a variety of parameters and techniques to identify malnutrition because many of the traditional markers can be skewed by renal disease and its comorbidities. Once malnutrition is identified, treatment is also complex and not well defined. Treatment is usually progressive in nature, ranging from intense nutritional counseling to total parenteral nutrition. Further research is needed to define optimal nutrition status, to refine techniques to maintain optimal nutrition status, to simplify the identification of malnutrition, and to improve the treatment for malnutrition.