Nutrition News

Chronic kidney disease patients living in health care communities, such as nursing facilities and assisted living facilities, face unique challenges related to maintaining a renal-specific diet, according to a study entitled "The nutrition needs of patients with chronic kidney disease in health care community settings, published in the July 2015 issue of the Journal of Renal Nutrition.

Carlos is a 48-year-old man who started in-center hemodialysis on June 4 2014 to treat his kidney disease. At the initiation of dialysis, he was facing a multitude of challenges, including confusion and memory loss due to a recurrent cerebrovascular accident (CVA), physical and cognitive rehabilitation needs, uncontrolled diabetes with suboptimal management, fluid overload, and severe malnutrition. Despite his excellent support system at home, his family felt they had little understanding and knowledge of kidney disease and his deteriorating health status. Moreover, his insurance limited access to services available in the community for his overall recovery.

“Laughter is the best medicine.”

When faced with going on dialysis in the spring of 2006, I was given two options: in-center hemodialysis three times weekly for long periods of time, or daily PD (peritoneal dialysis) which I could do at home, several times a day. And no needles. I hated needles. In the beginning, PD was the easy choice for me.

I will never forget the hot August day when my body started to feel so heavy that I told my mom all I wanted to do was lay flat on the floor. She immediately called my doctor, who told her to get me to the hospital as quickly as possible. I remember being very disoriented during the ride. I knew I was very sick and needed medical attention immediately. When I saw the hospital entrance, I was so desperate to see a doctor that I opened the door and flung myself out of the car while it was still moving, albeit, slowly. My mom realized what had happened and she slammed on the brakes.  I was lying on the road in my favorite blue dress with big red flowers that I had received for my 14th birthday. The hot asphalt was scorching my legs and I could not move them at all. I felt so helpless. I was immediately scooped up by a security guard, placed in a wheelchair, and taken to a treatment room next to the dialysis unit. A doctor immediately came in to examine me—and that is when my heart stopped. The culprit?

NN&I published a series of reports prepared by the CMOs who attended a conference in Chicago about improving quality. During the meeting, specific topics were assigned and groups were organized to address subjects such as nutrition, sodium and volume, initiation of dialysis, vascular access, and CKD education. These reports summarize the views of each group on how to improve patient outcomes.

Intradialytic hypotension is defined as a decrease in systolic blood pressure by ≥ 20 mm Hg or a decrease in mean arterial pressure by 10 mm Hg, and is associated with symptoms that include abdominal discomfort, yawning, sighing, nausea, vomiting, muscle cramps, restlessness, dizziness or fainting, and anxiety.

Researchers in Italy have created a Phosphorus Pyramid to help teach patients with chronic kidney disease how to reduce dietary phosphorus.

Some drugs prescribed to dialysis patients contain high levels of phosphorus, according to a paper published in Kidney International. Dialysis patients must limit phosphorous because dialysis removes only a small amount of phosphorus from the blood.

Adherence to four lifestyle factors can lower the risk of death in CKD patients, according to a new study in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases.