The use of digital applications on nutrition and food can help promote weight loss in dialysis patients and facilitate their access to waiting lists to receive a kidney transplant. This has been supported by a study developed by the Nephrology Service of the Hospital…
The use of digital applications on nutrition and food can contribute to promoting the weight loss in dialysis patients and facilitate their access to waiting lists to receive a kidney transplant. This has been supported by a study developed by the Nephrology Service of the Vinalopó University Hospital in Elche, managed by the Ribera health group, which has determined the effectiveness of the use of a digital nutrition servicewhose results showed that 38% of the patients enrolled in this service managed to get on the waiting list to undergo a kidney transplant. The research concluded that the participating patients significantly reduced their body weight and waist index, thus reducing the complications associated with obesity in order to undergo transplantation.
Have a high body mass index (BMI) represents an important contraindication to entering the waiting list for kidney transplantdue to its relationship with various adverse outcomes, such as surgical complications during the intervention or delayed graft function.
Hence the importance of being able to reduce or maintain it in order to access kidney transplant programs, which is the ideal treatment for patients with Advanced Chronic Kidney Diseasethat is, those who need a therapy that replaces the function of their kidneys in order to continue living.
The research was carried out through the app Nootricand determined an average weight loss of 6.4 kg/person, a reduction of 6.14 cm in waist diameter and an improvement in strength of 1.8 points. In addition, an increase in their lean mass was recorded, which made patients increase their chances of being on the waiting list for a kidney transplant.
The study, which has been presented at the 54th Congress of the Spanish Society of Nephrology (SEN) and the IX Ibero-American Congress of Nephrology and Hypertensionwhich brought together from November 8 to 10 about 1,000 nephrology doctors, researchers and experts from all over the country and different countries in Latin America and Portugal, was carried out with a cohort of 36 patients recruited in different hospital centers, with an average of 68 years and a treatment period of 12 weeks. Of these patients, 32 were undergoing hemodialysis treatment and 6 were undergoing peritoneal dialysis treatment.
The study was coordinated by nephrologists, nutritionists and nursing staffand its objective was, in addition to determining the effectiveness, according to the degree of adherence, of the use of the Nootric digital nutrition app, to track patients by measuring weight loss; and monitor analytical, functional, anthropometric results and body composition. In addition, it was developed in order to improve the nutrition services provided for kidney patients and evaluate the degree of final satisfaction. Likewise, an alert system was established so that the professional could receive information about the possible worsening of the disease and take measures.
The degree of satisfaction with the use of this digital app, both among patients and professionals, was very high. Furthermore, in terms of adherence, the active user entered the app 1 in every 2 days, with an adherence rate of 72%, much higher than the average adherence rate in other similar digital applications. In fact, during the study, more than 59,797 interactions with the app, 1,867 interactions with the nutritionist’s chat, and 13,641 interactions with the recipes included in the digital application were observed.
The authors of the study pointed out in their conclusions that the improvement in patients’ nutritional habits is related to the use of the app, and that the cost-effectiveness of this service is very positive.
The largest Nephrology meeting in Spain and Latin America
This research has been made known at the 54th Congress of the SEN and the IX Ibero-American Congress of Nephrology and Hypertension, the largest meeting on this specialty held in our country, and which this year has been expanded with the participation of nephrologists and Latin American experts. In this meeting we discussed the approach to kidney pathologies, especially CKDand the latest advances, research and challenges to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the disease have been analyzed, as well as the most recent developments in improving the quality of life of patients.
Furthermore, another of the objectives of the Congress has been to raise awareness in society about the importance and impact of CKD, a pathology that is very unknown to citizens in general, and which, however, already affects 15% of the population (about 7 million Spaniards). Furthermore, CKD has a strong impact on patients’ survival expectancy and quality of life and represents a significant burden on the public health system.
The scientific program of the meeting has addressed the main aspects of updating in prevention, diagnosis and treatment of CKD, such as the latest developments in cardiorenal syndrome, diabetic kidney disease, home dialysis, kidney transplant, glomerular diseases or the relationship of obesity and kidney disease. Likewise, it has been treated application of technology and artificial intelligence in the nephrological fieldthe use of ultrasound for patient diagnosis, the results of new clinical trials in nephroprotection for CKD and diabetes, or a new section dedicated to showing very recent research (Late Breaking Clinical Trials), especially relevant clinical trials that have not yet been published.
In addition, sessions have been dedicated to the management of anemia in CKD, developments in hereditary kidney diseases, new aspects of heart failure and hypertension in patients with CKD, care for kidney patients with cancer, and the gender gap. in kidney health, or Green Nephrologya concept that addresses the impact of climate change and pollution on kidney disease and the impact of nephrological treatments on the environment. On the other hand, they have developed training courses on the importance of diet and physical exercise in CKDlive donation, and interventional nephrology, as well as other sessions with younger professionals. Likewise, the scientific work of nephrologists has been presented through more than 750 communications on the latest studies and research on kidney disease in Spain, in addition to keynote conferences, symposiums, workshops or other meetings between Nephrology professionals.
