Analysis of different methods for the assessment of nutritional status of patients in hemodialysis

Abstract

Introduction: The patient undergoing dialysis must be nutritionally evaluated and keep in a regular monitoring since the start of dialytic procedures, thus providing the best proposals for effective interventions and diet. Objective: To compare the nutritional status of patients with chronic kidney disease with hemodialysis, considered malnourished and non-malnourished patients, through different clinical, anthropometric, biochemical parameters and verify the kappa level (concordance) of these assessment forms.  Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional study done with 90 patients in a dialysis clinic, in the city of Belo Horizonte, state of Minas Gerais in 2010. Personal, socioeconomic, nutritional, and clinical, biochemical and anthropometric data were collected. Results and Discussion: The results ranged from 12.2% up to 86.7% of malnourished individuals according to different evaluation parameters. In the anthropometrical analyzes, men had smaller skinfolds than women. Almost 40% of the patients had classification of malnutrition in the analyses of arm muscle circumference, being approximately 30% of them males individuals. The mean values of Body Mass Index were in the adequate range. The energy and protein intake were classified as malnourished were 86.7% and 57.8% respectively. The mean value of albumin was 3.9g/dL the frequency of malnourished ranged 35.6% and 50% according the reference. Conclusions: The large range of malnourished patients according to different classifications suggests the need standardization of routines, careful observation and monitoring of used references and the need for evaluation committees to determine new cutoff points for best nutritional classification of this population.