Abstract
Malnutrition is highly prevalent in dialysis patients, and a major contributor to morbidity and mortality. We have investigated the inter-relationship between malnutrition and its impact on morbidity and mortality in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. We enrolled 60 PD patients, and measured C-reactive protein (CRP) and various nutritional markers, including pre-albumin. Patients were classified into two groups according to the albumin level since albumin is a good marker of nutrition condition: Group I (n = 32) patients with normal albumin (NAP) where the albumin level was above or equal to 35 g/L and Group II (n = 28) patients with low albumin level (LAP) less than 35 g/L. The level (mean +/- SD) of blood urea nitrogen was significantly high (p < 0.05) in NAP group (19.9 +/- 5.76 mmol/L) compared with LAP group (15.9 +/- 6.32 mmol/L). Data showed that, the mean of creatinine was significantly high (p < 0.01) in NAP group (921 mu mol/L) compared with LAP group (584 mu mol/L) (Table 2). There was a trend toward association of elevated CRP with all-cause mortality in PD patients. It is useful to incorporate albumin and CRP in the regular assessment of PD patients, whose survival may be improved by better management of malnutrition. (C) 2011 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University.