ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank the members of my committee for their helpful comments and patience.I would also like to thank the nurses and dialysis technicians at Complete Dialysis Care, Inc.for their help in obtaining timely and accurate laboratory specimens; Dr. Paulette Johnson for her statistical assistance; REN Laboratories for their support of this project; and especially the hemodialysis patients at Complete Dialysis Care, Inc. for agreeing to participate in this study. The validity of serum transthyretin as a nutrition assessment parameter in hemodialysis patients was investigated. Fifty-one subjects (39% male and 61 % female; 53% black, 28% white, 12% Hispanic, 7% Other) receiving hemodialysis for 30 24 months (mean SD) and a total of 36 26 months of renal replacement therapy were followed for six months. Serum transthyretin, albumin, BUN, creatinine, cholesterol, normalized protein catabolic rate (nPCR), KT/V, weight and 24 hour urine analysis were determined monthly. Etiologies of end stage renal disease were diabetic nephropathy (37%), hypertensive nephrosclerosis (37%). glomerulonephritis (12%), polycystic kidney disease (4%), lupus nephritis (4%), other causes (6%). A significant correlation was found between transthyretin and creatinine, albumin and loss of dry weight (p<0.05). Transthyretin levels <30 mg/dl were found to correlate with urine outputs > 240 cc/24 hours, predialysis BUN < 50 mg/dl and nPCR
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