Dietary modification is an important component of the management of end stage kidney disease (ESKD). The diet for ESKD involves modifying energy and protein intake, and altering sodium, phosphate, potassium and fluid intake. There have been no comprehensive reviews to date on this topic. The aims of this integrative review were to (i) describe the methods used to measure dietary adherence (ii) determine the rate of dietary adherence and (iii) describe factors associated with dietary adherence in ESKD. The Web of Science and Scopus databases were searched using the search terms ‘adherence’ and ‘end stage kidney disease’. Of the 787 potentially eligible papers retrieved, 60 papers of 24,743 patients were included in this review. Of these papers, 44 reported the rate of dietary adherence and 44 papers described factors associated with adherence. Most of the evidence regarding dietary adherence is derived from studies of hemodialysis patients (72% of patients). The most common method of measuring dietary adherence in ESKD was subjective techniques (e.g. food diaries or adherence questionnaires). This was followed by indirect methods (e.g. serum potassium, phosphate or interdialytic weight gain). The weighted mean adherence rate to ESKD dietary recommendations was 31.5% and 68.5% for fluid recommendations. Adherence to protein, sodium, phosphate, and potassium recommendations were highly variable due to differences in measurement methods used, and were often derived from a limited evidence base. Socioeconomic status, age, social support and self-efficacy were associated with dietary adherence. However, factors such as taste, the impact of the diet on social eating occasions; and dietetic staffing also appear to play a role in dietary adherence. Dietary adherence rates in people with ESKD are suboptimal. Further research is required on dietary adherence in patients with ESKD from different social, educational, economic and ethnic groups. This research may identify other factors which may impact upon adherence, and could be used to inform the design of future strategies to improve dietary adherence. Future research that reports not just the rate of adherence to individual components of the nutrient prescription but also the overall quality of the diet would be useful.

In patients with end stage kidney disease (ESKD) on dialysis, treatment non-adherence is common and results in poor health outcomes. However, the clinical benefits of interventions to improve adherence in dialysis patients are difficult to evaluate since trialled interventions and reported outcomes are highly diverse/ heterogeneous. This review summarizes existing literature on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating adherence interventions in ESKD patients focusing on the intervention category, outcome efficacy and persistence of benefit beyond the intervention. We performed electronic database searches in Medline, Embase & Cochrane CENTRAL upto 1^st July 2018 for RCTs evaluating interventions to improve diet, fluid, medication or dialysis adherence in ESKD patients. Study characteristics including category of interventions, outcomes, efficacy and follow-up were assessed. Meta-analysis was used to compute pooled estimates of the effects on the commonest reported outcome measures. From 1311 citations, we included 36 RCTs (13 cluster-randomized trials), recruiting a total of 3510 dialysis patients (mean age 55.1 ± 5.8 years, males 58.1%). Overall risk of bias was ‘high’ for 24 and of ‘some concern’ for 12 studies. Most interventions (33 trials, 92%) addressed patient related factors, and included educational/cognitive (N = 11), behavioural / counselling (N = 4), psychological/affective (N = 4) interventions or a combination (N = 14) of the above. A majority of (28/36) RCTs showed improvement in some reported outcomes. Surrogate measures like changes in phosphate (N = 19) and inter-dialytic weight gain (N = 15) were the most common reported outcomes and both showed significant improvement in the meta-analysis. Sixteen trials reported follow-up (1–12 months) beyond intervention and the benefits waned or were absent in nine trials within 12 months post-intervention. Interventions to improve treatment adherence result in modest short-term benefits in surrogate outcome measures in dialysis patients, but significant improvements in trial design and outcome reporting are warranted to identify strategies that would achieve meaningful and sustainable clinical benefits. Poor methodological quality of trials. Frequent use of surrogate outcomes measures. Low certainly of evidence.

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is growing population health concern worldwide, and with early identification and effective management, kidney disease progression can be slowed or prevented. Most patients with risk factors for chronic kidney disease are treated within primary healthcare. Therefore, it is important to understand how best to support primary care providers (PC-P) to detect and manage chronic kidney disease. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate barriers and enablers to the diagnosis and management of CKD in primary care. Methods: A systematic review of qualitative research on the barriers and/or enablers to detection and/or management of CKD in adults within primary healthcare was conducted. The databases Medline (EBSCO), PubMed, Cochrane CENTRAL, CINAHL (EBSCO) and Joanna Briggs Institute Evidence Based Practice (Ovid) were searched until 27th August 2019. Barriers and/or enablers reported in each study were identified, classified into themes, and categorised according to the Theoretical Domains Framework. Results: A total of 20 studies were included in this review. The most commonly reported barriers related to detection and management of CKD in primary care were categorised into the ‘Environmental context and resources’ domain (n = 16 studies). Overall, the most common barrier identified was a lack of time (n = 13 studies), followed by a fear of delivering a diagnosis of CKD, and dissatisfaction with CKD guidelines (both n = 10 studies). Overall, the most common enabler identified was the presence of supportive technology to identify and manage CKD (n = 7 studies), followed by the presence of a collaborative relationship between members of the healthcare team (n = 5 studies). Conclusion: This systematic review identified a number of barriers and enablers which PC-P face when identifying and managing CKD. The findings of this review suggest a need for time-efficient strategies that promote collaboration between members of the healthcare team, and practice guidelines which consider the frequently co-morbid nature of CKD. Enhanced collaboration between PC-P and nephrology services may also support PC-Ps when diagnosing CKD in primary care, and facilitate improved patient self-management.

Older malnourished patients experience increased surgical complications and greater morbidity compared with their well-nourished counterparts. This study aimed to assess whether nutritional status at hospital admission predicted clinical outcomes at 18 months follow-up. A retrospective analysis of N=2076 patient admissions (65+ years) from two subacute hospitals, New South Wales, Australia. Analysis of outcomes at 18 months, according to nutritional status at index admission, was performed in a subsample of n=476. Nutritional status was determined within 72 h of admission using the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA). Outcomes, obtained from electronic patient records, included hospital readmission rate, total Length of Stay (LOS), change in level of care at discharge and mortality. Survival analysis, using a Cox proportional hazards model, included age, sex, Major Disease Classification, mobility and LOS at index admission as covariates. At baseline, 30% of patients were malnourished and 53% were at risk of malnutrition. LOS was higher in malnourished and at risk, compared with well-nourished patients (median (interquartile range): 34 (21, 58); 26 (15, 41); 20 (14, 26) days, respectively; P<0.001). Hazard rate for death in the malnourished group is 3.41 (95% confidence interval: 1.07–10.87; P=0.038) times the well-nourished group. Discharge to a higher level of residential care was 33.1%, 16.9% and 4.9% for malnourished, at-risk and well-nourished patients, respectively; P0.001). Malnutrition in elderly subacute patients predicts adverse clinical outcomes and identifies a need to target this population for nutritional intervention following hospital discharge.

Routine nutrition screening is recommended for all older patients admitted to hospital however data on the prevalence of malnutrition in rehabilitation settings is sparse. This study assessed the nutritional status of older patients admitted to rehabilitation hospitals over a 5 year period and described the association between nutritional status and length of hospital stay (LOS) in this context. The usefulness of a recently revised version of the shortened MNA (MNA-SF) was also investigated.

Dementia is a common syndrome in older people. Dementia alters eating behaviors, hunger and thirst cues, swallow function, ability to self-feed, and recognition and interest in food. There is significant variation in the reported prevalence of malnutrition among older people who live in long-term care. The aim was to conduct a systematic literature review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of malnutrition in those with dementia living in long-term care using a validated nutrition assessment tool. Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL, and Medline were searched. A random effects model was used to determine the prevalence and risk of malnutrition. Data were retrieved from 24 studies. Most of the studies were from Europe or South Asia. The prevalence of malnutrition ranged from 6.8 to 75.6%, and the risk of malnutrition was 36.5–90.4%. The pooled prevalence of malnutrition in those with dementia in long-term care was 26.98% (95% CI 22.0–32.26, p < 0.0001, I² = 94.12%). The pooled prevalence of the risk of malnutrition in those with dementia was 57.43% (95% CI 49.39–65.28, p < 0.0001, I² = 97.38%). Malnutrition is widespread in those with dementia living in long-term care. Further research exploring malnutrition in other industrialized countries using validated assessment tools is required.