Assessment of nutritional status in dialysis patients

Malnutrition is common in patients treated with maintenance dialysis and appears to influence mortality in these patients. Thus, assessment of the nutritional status of dialysis patients is important if one is to make appropriate treatment interventions. This article describes the various parameters used in assessing the nutritional status of patients treated by hemodialysis and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. The usefulness of these parameters, as well as the pitfalls in their interpretation, are also reviewed.