Protein-energy wasting in maintenance hemodialysis patients: Etiology and diagnosis

Abstract

The available evidence suggests that nutritional status in the HD patients is an extremely important predictive and causative factor for the good clinical outcome. Nutritional deficits and PEW are frequent problems in the dialysis population and implies an increased risk of negative health outcomes such as mortality risk and quality of life deterioration. There is no single specific measurement that provides complete assessment of the nutritional status in the HD patients, and the results should be analysed in the clinical context of each individual patients. As malnutrition is potentially reversible with appropriate nutritional support, early identification of patients at high nutritional risk may facilitate effective treatment and improve prognosis in the HD patients. .