Abstract
Background: Malnutrition and metabolic acidosis are frequently observed in patients receiving regular hemodialysis. Both conditions, malnutrition and metabolic acidosis are linked to an increased mortality rate in chronic hemodialysis patients.
Objectives: To clarify the role of hemodialysis and metabolic acidosis on malnutrition in patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis.
Patients and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study, includes 64 patients on regular hemodialysis and had metabolic acidosis. Subjective Global Assessment was used to evaluate patients’ nutritional conditions and urea reduction ratio to assess hemodialysis adequacy. According to urea reduction rate , patients were allocated into two groups: group (A) includes patients with adequate dialysis and group (B) includes those with inadequate dialysis, then group (A) further subdivided into two groups according to their nutritional status, group (A1) with well-nourishment and group (A2) malnourishment. Comparing group (A) vs (B) and group (A1) vs (A2) in order to determine the relationship of metabolic acidosis and hemodialysis adequacy to malnutrition.
Results: Malnutrition was common in those patients as 32 patients (50%) had malnutrition, while just 2 patients (5.56%) with adequate hemodialysis (group A2) had malnutrition , 20 patients ( 71.43%) of those with inadequate hemodialysis (group B) had malnutrition.
Conclusions: Inadequate hemodialysis rather than metabolic acidosis contribute sto malnutrition in chronic hemodialysis patients.
