Practices And Opinions On In-Center Food Consumption Across 1,223 Facilities In The United States

In the United States, the practices and opinions of healthcare providers regarding eating on dialysis are unknown. The purpose of this study was to understand healthcare provider opinions and in-center hemodialysis patient practices regarding eating while at the dialysis center. In June 2011, over 1200 registered dietitians within a large dialysis organization in the US were surveyed on current practices and opinions of patient food consumption during dialysis treatment using an online survey. 1223 of 1665 (73%) dialysis facilities responded to the food consumption survey. n=1222 Permitted No Guidelines Not allowed n (%) n (%) n (%) Eating on dialysis 803 (66%) 67 (5%) 352 (29%) Drinking on dialysis 907 (75%) 87 (7%) 228 (19%) 218 (18%) of the respondents stated that the facility practice for consuming nutritional supplements (eg., liquid nutritional supplements and/or protein bars) while on dialysis was different than the policy for consuming food while on dialysis. Interestingly, 1203 (98%) of the respondents stated consuming food before or after dialysis was allowed. The top reasons for facility practices that allowed eating during dialysis were: prevention of hypoglycemia on dialysis, improved kcal intake on dialysis days, and the opportunity to provide counseling on food products currently chosen by the patient. The top reasons for facility practices not permitting eating during dialysis included: potential adverse events associated with hypotension, GI symptoms, choking, infection, pest control, and spills. Further analyses are warranted to determine whether there is a correlation between allowing patients to eat during dialysis treatment and an improvement in the nutritional status of the patients.