Serum Albumin as a Predictor of Morbidity and Mortality in Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis(CAPD) Patients / 대한신장학회잡지

ABSTRACT

Serum albumin(SA) is a powerful predictor of morbidity and mortality in hemodialysis(HD) population. In CAPD patients, SA may be more severely compromised because of large dialysate protein losses and lower protein intake relative to HD patients. However, the usefulness of SA as a marker for increased morbidity and mortality in CAPD patients remains undefined. To investigate the role of SA and other risk factors as predictors of peritonitis, hospitalization and death in CAPD patients, we conducted this retrospective study on 782 patients who were followed-up for more than 3 months after initiation of CAPD at Severance Hospital from January 1985 through August 1995. For each patient the following data were collected age, sex, duration on dialysis, presence of diabetes mellitus or cardiovascular disease, and monthly biochemical data including SA. 1) The mean age of the patients was 45.5+/-13.6 years(range, 14-80) with sex ratio 1.21 and mean duration on dialysis was 30.8+/-25.6 months(range, 3- 122). 2) Independent factors affecting serum albumin level were creatinine(beta=0.301, por=4.0g/dL), and incidence of peritonitis, hospitalization and death were compared among them. Compared to group 2 and group 3, group 1 had significantly higher peritonitis rate(1.18 vs. 0.87, 0.66 times/year/patient, p<0.05) and hospitalization(7.93 vs. 4.70, 3.36 days/year/patient, p<0.05). The 5- year survival rates in group 1, group 2 and group 3 were 43.4%, 60.9% and 84.1%, respectively (p<0.05). In conclusion, low SA is an important and strong predictor for morbidity and mortality in CAPD patients. Prospective studies are needed to determine if aggressive intervention with nutritional supplements could improve the SA level and to determine if such an improvement would impact on morbidity and mortality.