Nutritional Assessment of Dialysis Patient with a Web-Based Tool Allows More Accurate Treatment of Malnutrition.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Regular assessment of nutritional status of dialysis patients is vital for preventing malnutrition and protein energy wasting. The aim of this clinical study was to analyze dietary intake of dialysis patients and to determine if it meets their nutritional needs.

METHODS

Clinical study was conducted on 30 randomly selected dialysis patients in the dialysis department of the University Medical Centre Ljubljana. Nutritional interview was conducted unannounced five times over a period of three months with the 24-hour recall method. Results were analyzed with Prodi 6.6 Expert software. Body composition was measured with bioimpedance spectroscopy.

RESULTS

Average caloric intake of 30 patients is 14.1 ± 4.7 kcal/kg body weight per day, average protein intake is 0.61 ± 0.19 g/kg body weight per day. The average BMI (body mass index) is 27.9 ± 4.4 kg/m2, the average LTI (lean tissue index) is 12.5 ± 3.1 kg/m2, the average FTI (fat tissue index) is 14.2 ± 5.7 kg/m2 and the average phase angle is 4.2 ± 1.0. Average calorie intake and protein intake are inadequate according to the dietary recommendations for dialysis patients. Anthropometric measurements indicate sarcopenic obesity.

CONCLUSION

According to the aim of the study, we confirmed that caloric and protein intake of dialysis patients were inadequate according to their needs. Depending on the results of nutritional analysis and bioimpedance measurements, we have confirmed the presence of protein energy wasting among observed patients.