Six-month overnight intraperitoneal amino-acid infusion in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients--no effect on nutritional status.

Abstract

The long-term effect of an AA solution based on Travasol, a solution for total parenteral nutrition, given intraperitoneally over a 6-month period was studied in 5 patients 22 to 75 years old, having been on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) for 3 to 57 months. A low oral protein intake (less than 0.8 g/kg bw/day) and/or a low serum albumin (less than 35 g/L) were used as inclusion criteria. Two liters of 1% AA solution were infused overnight, while a glucose Dianeal was used for the other exchanges. During the study, BUN increased from 22.04 mM/L to 28.06 mM/L the first month and remained at these levels, indicating the increased protein intake. However, average oral total energy and protein intake, body weight (bw), serum creatinine, cholesterol, triglycerides, total proteins, albumin, transferrin, skinfold thickness, total body potassium, and plasma AA levels remained basically unchanged. The average total body nitrogen decreased from 1.746 to 1.554 Kg, but this decrease did not reach statistical significance (p greater than 0.05). We conclude that intraperitoneal overnight administration of 2 L of 1% AA based on Travasol over 6 months did not improve the nutritional status of CAPD patients. This ineffectiveness might be due to the AA composition of the solution, the timing of administration, or to a low caloric intake and/or that our patients were not severely malnourished.