NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF PATIENTS UNDERGOING CONTINUOUS AMBULATORY PERITONEAL DIALYSIS

for 18-24 months showed a decrease in total body nitrogen, increase in total body potassium and body weight, and a decrease in protein intake over time. There was no correlation between changes in TBN and the biochemical parameters measured. Serial dietetic assessments and measurements of total body nitrogen as well as adherence to an adequate protein intake will assist in the prevention of malnutrition in CAPD patients. Chronic malnutrition is a well-known complication of patients with chronic renal failure (I), and involves both calorie and protein malnutrition. Among patients treated with continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) calorie malnutrition usually is not a problem because of the amount of glucose absorbed from the peritoneal dialysis solution (2, 3). In contrast protein malnutrition of uremia may be aggravated by CAPD because of additional factors such as a) protein loss into the dialysate (4, 5), which usuall