Renal Dietitian's perspective: Identification, prevalence, and intervention for malnutrition in dialysis patients in texas

Objective : Determine the prevalence of malnutrition per facility standards; examine interventions used to treat malnutrition; and share experiences, concerns, and solutions to problems in the management of malnutrition in dialysis patients in Texas. Design : Structured survey questionnaires. Setting : 196 outpatient hemodialysis (HD) and 86 peritoneal dialysis (PD) programs in End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Network of Texas, Inc. Participants : Renal dietitians who worked in Texas dialysis facilities that treated chronic, outpatient adult, and pediatric ESRD patients on HD or PD. Measures : Criteria used to identify malnourished patients, prevalence of malnutrition in dialysis recipients, prevalence and types of interventions used to manage malnourished patients, and participation in quality management activities among renal dietitians. Results : For facilities that treated both HD and PD patients in 1996: (1) a significantly greater proportion of PD patients were identified as malnourished than HD patients: (2) facilities that had a high percentage of malnourished HD patients also had a high percentage of malnourished PD patients; (3) a significantly greater proportion of PD patients received commercial nutrition supplements than HD patients; and (4) use of tube feedings, intradialytic parenteral nutrition, intraperitoneal parenteral nutrition, and total parenteral nutrition among HD and PD patients decreased significantly from the past to the current survey year. Renal dietitians shared their experiences, concerns and solutions to problems in the management of malnutrition in this population. Conclusion : Results indicate a need to improve the nutritional status of malnourished dialysis patients, to increase consideration of tube feedings as viable nutrient delivery routes, and to maximize involvement of renal dietitians in the quality management process. With the cooperative effort of staff, care givers, patients, and family, early identification and appropriate interventions may improve the nutritional status and quality of life of dialysis patients.