Nutritional improvement in elderly CAPD patients with additional high protein foods.

One of the key factors in improving the survival and dropout rate in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients is to improve their nutritional status. In this study 18 CAPD patients were encouraged to add 0.1-0.3 g of protein/kilogram/day of high biological value nutrients for more than 6 months in the form of a dessert. Several nutritional parameters, such as serum total protein, albumin, prealbumin, transferrin, plasma total amino acids, the ratio of essential amino acids (EAA) to nonessential amino acids (NEAA), and serum C3, C4, increased significantly. The values of (KT/V) urea increased simultaneously with increases in the protein catabolic rate (PCR) after the administration of nutrients. There was also a significant correlation between the (KT/V) urea and PCR in each patient. These results suggest that supplementary protein nutrients can improve the biochemical and physical nutritional parameters that are related to nutritional status and peritoneal functions.