Comprehensive malnutrition inflammation score as a marker of nutritional status in Chinese peritoneal dialysis patients.

BACKGROUND: Malnutrition is common among peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. However, the ideal marker of nutritional status in PD patients remained controversial.

METHODS: We studied 165 unselected adult PD patients. We compared the comprehensive Malnutrition-Inflammation Score (MIS) and the 7-point Subjective Global Assessment (SGA) score.

RESULTS: The mean age was 59.2 +/- 11.5 years. Seventy patients were male. MIS significantly correlated with the SGA score (r =-0.667, P < 0.001). Of the 165 patients, 132 (80.0%) had similar classification of nutritional status by SGA and MIS (Group I); 17 (10.3%) were classified as normal by SGA but moderately malnourished by MIS (Group II), while 16 (9.7%) were classified as normal by MIS but moderately malnourished by SGA (Group III). Group II had been dialysed longer than Group I (71.7 +/- 50.3 vs 40.7 +/- 37.5 months, P = 0.011). As compared with Group I, Group III was more likely to require helper for PD exchange (37.5%vs 9.7%, P = 0.004), marginally more likely to be diabetic (62.5%vs 35.6%, P = 0.085) and had a slightly higher Charlson's comorbidity score (6.13 +/- 1.78 vs 4.98 +/- 2.1, P = 0.085), although the latter two were not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION: MIS has a reasonable correlation with the conventional SGA score in PD patients. Patients with limited self-care capability, diabetes and multiple comorbidities probably had worse score (i.e. worse nutrition) revealed by SGA than by MIS, while patients who had been dialysed longer had worse score revealed by MIS than by SGA.