Effect of multidisciplinary medical nutrition therapy on the nutrition status of patients receiving peritoneal dialysis: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: Malnutrition is a prevalent complication in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD). This study established a multidisciplinary team for medical nutrition therapy (MNT) to investigate the impact of this approach on enhancing the nutrition, anemic, and microinflammatory status of patients receiving PD.

Methods: This randomized controlled trial study involved 81 patients undergoing PD (n = 41 in the intervention group, n = 40 in the control group). The intervention group received comprehensive MNT management, whereas the control group received standard nutrition care. The intervention spanned a 6-month period. Various nutrition parameters, markers of anemia, and microinflammatory indexes were assessed before the intervention, at 3 months, and at 6 months postintervention. Repeated-measures analysis of variance and the nonparametric Scheirer-Ray-Hare test were used for within-group and between-group comparisons.

Results: There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in terms of age, sex, duration of dialysis, primary disease, or baseline prenutrition inflammation data. At 6 months postintervention, the intervention group exhibited higher levels of serum albumin, blood calcium, serum iron, hemoglobin, total iron-binding capacity, body mass index, midarm circumference, triceps skinfold thickness, handgrip strength, and daily energy and protein intake compared with the control group (P < 0.05). Additionally, the intervention group demonstrated lower levels of subjective nutrition assessment value, C-reactive protein, and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio than the control group (P < 0.05), with no statistically significant differences in other markers after interventions.

Conclusion: Multidisciplinary MNT can ameliorate the nutrition status of patients receiving PD, decrease the incidence of malnutrition, and improve anemia and microinflammatory outcomes.