Over half of our HD patients had sufficient RRF. RRF itself may have a beneficial effect on nutritional parameters, and it is important to determine RRF over time, even in chronic HD patients.

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Normalization of low plasma levels of BCAA by oral supplementation can reduce anorexia and significantly improve overall nutritional status in elderly malnourished HD patients.

Objective To determine the effect of peritoneal dialysis modalities such as nightly intermittent peritoneal dialysis (NIPD), continuous cyclic peritoneal dialysis (CCPD), and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) on residual renal function. Design A six-month prospective, nonrandomized comparison study. Setting Outpatient CAPD unit of a university hospital. Participants Eighteen end-stage renal disease patients treated by peritoneal dialysis (8 by NIPD, 5 by CCPD, and 5 by CAPD). Interventions Samples from the total dialysate, blood, and 24hour urine collection were obtained monthly. Measurements Urea, creatinine, and beta2-microglobulin concentrations were measured. Renal and peritoneal clearances of each substance and KT/V urea were calculated. Residual renal function (RRF) was estimated by renal creatinine clearance (RCcr). Results No significant differences in age, sex, and primary renal disease among the three groups were noted. In all groups, anemic and hypertensive states were controlled identically, and mean weekly total (renal + peritoneal) KT/V urea (over 2.1/wk) and total creatinine clearance (over 60 L/wk/1.73 m2) were maintained during the whole experimental period. Starting mean RCcr was near 4.0 mL/min/1.73 m2 in all groups. Thereafter, a rapid and significant decline in RRF was demonstrated on NIPD and CCPD. The declining rates of RCcr values at 6 months after starting NIPD and CCPD were -0.29 and -0.34 mL/min/month, respectively, which were much greater than those of CAPD (+0.01 mL/min/month). Conclusion Because of a possibly characteristic progressive loss of RRF in automated peritoneal dialysis (APD), strict regular assessment of RRF should be performed from the start of APD.