Progressive inflammation and wasting in patients with ESRD

摘要

Body mass and, more importantly, body cell mass declinein patients with increasing time on RRT (1–3).Malnutrition, defined by low levels of albumin, lowlevels of prealbumin, low body mass index, and reducedphysical function, is predictive of mortality (4).Although albumin concentration may increase in thefirst year after hemodialysis initiation, as a consequenceof either nutritional improvement or the reductionin proteinuria that accompanies loss of residualrenal function (5), after that year, the trajectory for albuminand prealbumin is a decreasewith vintage (1,3).