Is subjective global assessment a good index of nutrition in peritoneal dialysis patients with gastrointestinal symptoms?
OBJECTIVE: We investigated whether patients with gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms were prone to be diagnosed as malnourished by subjective global assessment (SGA) by simultaneously evaluating SGA and other indices of nutrition in a cross-sectional survey of peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. PATIENTS AND METHOD: From June 2006 to June 2007, 214 PD patients were involved in the study. We recorded results of a GI symptoms questionnaire (GSQ) and SGA. Other indices of nutrition included dietary intake, chemistry examination, anthropometry, handgrip strength, and lean body mass measured by creatinine kinetics. RESULTS: Mean age of the 214 PD patients enrolled in the study was 60.22 +/- 14.02 years, and mean dialysis duration was 60.22 +/- 14.02 months. Of the 214 patients, 56 (27.16%) were diagnosed as malnourished by SGA. The mean GSQ scores were 9.37 +/- 1.71 (range: 8 – 17). There were 90 patients with GSQ scores of 8 (group 1), 80 patients with scores of 9 or 10 (group 2), 44 patients wi
