Nephrol Dial Transplant (1995) 10: 2286-2289
© 1995 European Renal Association-European Dialysis and Transplant Association
research-article
Protein intake does not depend on the dose of dialysis delivered—provided Kt/V is adequate
Servizio di Nefrologia e Dialisi, Ospedale Maggiore Trieste, Italy
Correspondence and offprint requests to: Correspondence and offprint requests to: G. Panzetta, Servizio di Nefrologia e Dialisi, Ospedale Maggiore, Via Stuparich, 1, 34125 Trieste, Italy
BACKGROUND: A link between malnutrition and the dialysis dose has been recently postulated on the basis of the direct relationship between Kt/V and nPCR and an increase in dialysis therapy has been also proposed in malnourished patients or when nPCR is less than 1 g/kg b.w., but the clinical meaning of such a relationship is unclear.
DESIGN: Both dietary protein intake and nPCR were simultaneously determined in a selected population of 35 well-dialysed patients (Kt/V>0.8) and were related to the delivered dialysis dose.
RESULTS: No relationship was found between measured Kt/V (1.10 ± 0.20) and dietary protein intake (PI, 0.98 ± 0.20 g/kg) and similarly no relationship was evident between the dialysis dose and nPCR (0.99 ± 0.20 g/kg). Although the mean nPCR value was similar to that of protein intake, nPCR exceeded protein intake when PI was less than 1 g/kg b.w.
CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate that if the dialysis dose is adequate, protein intake is a dialysis—independent or patient—dependent variable. They also show that at least 0.9 to 1.0 g protein per kg b.w are required to maintain nitrogen balance even in well-dialysed patients.
Keywords: protein intake; nPCR; Kt/V; nitrogen balance