A complete revelation on the key points of nutritional assessment and treatment of chronic kidney disease!

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a disease that seriously affects human health. It has a high incidence rate, great harm, and brings a huge burden to patients' lives. With the progression of CKD, the incidence of malnutrition in patients gradually increases, and the degree of malnutrition gradually worsens. The incidence of nutritional disorders in CKD patients in my country is about 16.7%, and the incidence of severe nutritional disorders is about 14.2% [1]. In recent years, with people's attention to health and the continuous advancement of medical technology, the treatment and management of CKD have also received more attention. In this context, nutritional support, as an important part of the comprehensive treatment of CKD, has also gradually received attention.

Through reasonable nutritional assessment and nutritional management, the nutritional status of CKD patients can be effectively improved, the progression of the disease can be delayed, and the quality of life of patients can be improved. Based on this, this article combines relevant literature and guidelines and organizes them into a mind map for readers to consult and remember.

Nutritional assessment of CKD patients mainly includes anthropometric indicators, body composition analysis, laboratory indicators and nutritional assessment scales, see Figure 1.

Figure 1. Mind map of nutritional assessment for CKD patients

For CKD patients, due to the reduction of nephrons, urea produced by protein decomposition will gradually accumulate in the blood and damage organ function. Therefore, CKD patients need to achieve the goal of preventing protein reserve loss and reducing nitrogenous waste accumulation through reasonable protein intake. The recommended protein intake for CKD patients is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2 Mind map of recommended protein intake for CKD patients

Adequate energy supply is a necessary condition to avoid protein energy consumption in CKD patients. Specific energy intake recommendations are shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3 Mind map of energy intake recommendations for CKD patients

Due to the reduction of nephrons, CKD patients have impaired ability to regulate water, electrolytes, and acid-base balance, so they need to pay attention to the intake of water and inorganic salts. See Figure 4 for specific intake recommendations.

Figure 4 Mind map of recommended water and inorganic salt intake for CKD patients

References:

[1] Zhu Jincheng, Zhao Cunxi, Zhang Haifeng. Analysis of pre-dialysis nutritional status and influencing factors of malnutrition in patients with chronic kidney disease[J]. Chinese Journal of General Practice, 2019, 17(12): 2026-2030.