PRE DIALYSIS PATIENTS;

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an alarmingly increasingcondition from day to day andit is assumed that malnutrition is co-existent in patients withchronic renal failure (CRF). Malnutrition also occurs in pre-dialysis patients. Such patientshave reduced body weight, depleted fat (energy) stores, loss of somatic protein (low musclemass) and low levels of different plasma proteins like pre-albumin albumin, transferrin, andothers. Objective: To ascertain the frequency of malnutrition in dialysis independent patientsof chronic kidney disease. Setting: Department of nephrology, Jinnah Postgraduate MedicalCentre Karachi. Duration of study: 6 month from 1 June 2013 – 1 December 2013. Studydesign: cross sectional study. Subjects and methods: Patients with chronic kidney disease(GFR <60ml/min/1.73m2) on conservative management irrespective of cause and sex werestudied. All Patients with CKD stage 3 and onwards i. ecreatinine clearance less than 60ml/min/1.73m2for more than 6 months were considered. Descriptive analysis of these patientswas done by: Calculating mean ± SD for age and duration of disease. Male to female ratiowas calculated. Frequency of malnutrition in undialysed patients was calculated. The effectmodifier of age, gender, duration of disease was controlled through stratification. Chi squaretest was applied and p value ≤0.05 was taken as significant. Result: Out of 137 patients, 80were males and 57 were females and the mean age of patients was 58 ±5.8. Mean duration ofdisease was 5.2 ±1.05. Moderate malnutrition cases were 58(42.3%) while severe malnutritionwas observed in 32(23.35%) cases. Conclusion: Patients of chronic kidney disease were foundto be at risk of malnutrition.