Serum parameters, inflammation, renal function and patient outcome

Early serum parameters predicting patient outcome mainly are albumin and prealbumin. They were initially thought to represent nutritional status. With the understanding of the contribution of inflammation to malnutrition, cardiovascular disease and mortality, these negative phase inflammatory markers probably represent inflammation more than nutrition. Similarly, C-reactive protein is also found to be a strong predictor of mortality. The other strong predictor of patient outcome is residual renal function. The interlink between preservation of residual renal function and inflammation is becoming a subject of growing interest.