Appetite and nutritional status of chronic hemodialysis patients

Marouane Belarbi[1], Mohamed Reda El-farouki[2], Nadir Zemraoui[1a], Mohammed Asserraji[3]
Page No. 169-174

Protein-energy malnutrition is frequently founded in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients. It
is associated with a significantly increased risk of mortality and morbidity. Early recognition and
appropriate therapeutic management are essential to improve the prognosis of these patients. The
objective of this study was to determine if the state of appetite can be correlated with nutritional
status.Patients and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in January 2013 in our dialysis
unit. MHD patients for more than 03 months were included. Appetite was assessed according to the
HEMO Study-five degrees. We considered stage 1 and 2 as normal and stage 3, 4 and 5 as fair
appetite and correlate theses appetite states to demographic and biological parameters.
Results: Fifty MHD patients (18 women and 32 men) were included. The mean dialysis average was
75.96 months. Diabetic nephropathy represents 36% of total patients. The appetite was normal in
58 % of the cases and fair in 42 % in the others. Mean Body Mass Index (BMI) was 22, 99 kg/m 2,
mean serum albumin was 39, 16 g/l, serum préalbumin 0, 35 g/L and normalized protein nitrogen
appearance (nPNA) was 1,54g kg-1 d-1. There is positive correlation between appetite status and
serum albumin.
Keywords: Hemodialysis, appetite, malnutrition.