[In chronic renal failure severe cardiovascular complications develop, which are the cause of death in 50% of the patients. According to recent results, behind the accelerated atherosclerosis, malnutrition and inflammation, developing in patients with chronic renal failure, play significant role. Malnutrition and inflammation show close relationship to the serum albumin level, which is an independent predictor of mortality. Authors studied the nutritional parameters of 94 chronically hemodialysis patients. Patients had been dialysed for more than three months, for 3×4-4.5 hours weekly. Among them 36% had diabetes. According to BMI (body mass index) 42.5% of the patients was normally nourished (20-24 kg/m2), 11.7% of them had malnutrition, 28.7% was overweight, and 17.1% was mildly or moderately obese. Subjective Global Assessment (SGA), calculated by dietician, revealed, that 47.9% of the patients has normal nutritional condition, all the others had some degree of malnutrition. Serum albumin level showed close correlation with the nutritional status, also with an inflammatory marker, the CRP. Only 63.8% of the patients had higher than 40g/l serum albumin. Those, who had higher than 10 mg/l CRP value, had significantly lower serum albumin (38.7±3.4 g/l), comparing to the albumin of the patients, whose CRP was below 10 mg/l (40.5±3.9 g/l, p=0.04). Comparing anthropometrical data, there was no significant difference between diabetic and non-diabetic patients. Grouping patients by their ages, the malnutrition, defined by SGA scores and by serum albumin level, was significantly worse in patients older than 80 years, than in the younger than 50 years old subjects, which signals increased risk of mortality of the elderly patients. A case presentation demonstrates, that malnutrition can be diagnosed at early stage by appropriate nutritional assessment, and it can be corrected by timely and satisfactory energy- and nutrient-substitution, in severe cases by specially prepared nutritional supplements, and thereby the patient’s severe cardiovascular risk can be ameliorated. The successful treatment of hemodialysis patients requires change in medical practice, and close cooperation between physicians and dieticians.]
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