Assessment of nutritional status among ESRD patients in Jordanian hospitals

Our objective was to assess nutritional status and compare quality of treatment among hemodialysis patients in public and private hospitals in Jordan.

We utilized a cross-sectional survey.

Our setting involved hospital hemodialysis units.

This study was undertaken in five large Jordanian hospitals between 2004 and 2005. One hundred and eighty participants diagnosed with end-stage renal failure (ESRD) were enrolled. These participants (91 women and 89 men) who underwent hemodialysis treatment were recruited using a convenience sampling technique. Data from participants who received hemodialysis treatment in public hospital settings were compared with equivalent data from participants treated in private hospital settings.

Subjective global assessment (SGA), anthropometry, and biochemical measurements were used as evaluative tools.

In the anthropometric measurement of triceps skinfold thickness (TSF), we found a statistically significant difference (P < .05) between participants treated in the two hospital settings. In addition, approximately 62% of all participants, regardless of treatment site, were found to be moderately to severely malnourished. Anthropometric measurements showed some significant increase between prehemodialysis and posthemodialysis weight and body mass index in private hospitals; this was not unexpected. There were no statistically significant differences in the measured mean levels of eight different biochemical parameters, with the exception of plasma phosphorus and sodium levels.

The prevalence of malnutrition and the quality of treatment in our two groups of participants were similar.