Frequency of iron deficiency anaemia in chronic kidney disease patient not on dialysis.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of iron deficiency anaemia in non-dialysis chronic kidney disease patients. METHODS: The observational, cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Nephrology, The Kidney Centre Post-Graduate Training Institute, Karachi, from April 27 to October 26, 2018, and comprised adult patients of either gender diagnosed with anaemia and estimated glomerular filtration rate <90ml/min. Patient with transferrin saturation <20% were labelled as having iron deficiency anaemia. Data was analysed using SPSS 21. RESULTS: Of the 366 participants, 185(50.5%) were males and 181(49.5%) were females. The overall mean age was 54.47±14.93 years. The most prevalent comorbid was hypertension 263(71.9%), followed by diabetes mellitus 187(51.1%) and cardiovascular disease 54(14.8%). Besides, 192(52.5%) patients had CKD stage 5 followed by 115(31.4%) and 54(14.8%) with CKD stages 4 and 3, respectively. The mean haemoglobin was 9.17±1.57g/dL. Iron deficiency was found in 285(77.9%) patients. CONCLUSIONS: Iron deficiency anaemia was found to be highly prevalent and should be screened routinely and managed appropriately.

Assessment of nutritional status of haemodialysis patients by subjective global assessment score: A single centre study from Karachi, Pakistan.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the nutritional status of patients on maintenance haemodialysis to determine the frequency and severity of malnutrition. METHOD: The cross-sectional study was conducted in November 2020, at the The Kidney Centre Post-Graduate Training Institute, Karachi, and comprised secondary data related to patients on maintenance haemodialysis which was collected from January to August 2016. A one-time subjective global assessment score was calculated based on the history and physical examinations. Data was analysed using SPSS 17. RESULTS: Of the 150 patients, 84(56%) were male and 66(44%) were female. The overall mean age of study participants was 52.21±12.5 years. Hypertension was the most frequent comorbid 130(86.7%), and normal body mass index was noted in 58(38.7%). Overall, 96(64%) patients had mild or moderate malnourishment, and 54(36%) were well-nourished. Females were 2.6 times more likely to be malnourished (p=0.009), and duration >5 years on haemodialysis increased the risk of malnourishment by 12.5 times (p<0.001), while overweight patients had significantly less chance of being malnourished (p=0.004). CONCLUSIONS: Malnutrition was found to be quite common in haemodialysis patients, which necessitates its regular assessment and monitoring.