Relation of Calorie Deficiency to Growth Failure in Children on Hemodialysis and the Growth Response to Calorie Supplementation

Abstract

To determine if a relation existed between calorie intake and growth of children on hemodialysis, linear growth rate was observed for periods of three to nine months in children on dialysis and compared to 50th-percentile growth rates taken from tables for normal children having the same age or comparable secondary sexual development. Five children (six observations) with calorie intakes of less than 67 per cent of Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) grew at an average rate of 34 per cent of normal (range, 0 to 59). Ten children (11 observations) with calorie intakes of greater than 67 per cent of RDA grew at an average rate of 117 per cent normal (range, 87 to 150). Therefore, in this patient population, only calorie intakes of approximately 70 per cent of RDA or more were compatible with normal growth.