The Relationship Between Fluid Status And Taste Acuity In Peritoneal Dialysis Patients

Objectives: (1) To determine whether there is a relationship between salt intake and taste acuity. (2) To find the possible reasons to fluid overload in diabetic PD patients. So, we can find the reasons to fluid overload and hypertension in peritoneal dialysis(PD) patients with or without diabetes mellitus(DM).Methods: Fifty-eight stable CAPD patients who had regular follow-up were recruited into this cross-section study. Their demographic characteristics, such as age, gender, weight, height, were collected. Their dialyses effluent and urine were measured. At the same time, to measure their taste acuity of salt in order to evaluate the taste sensitivity. At last, it was important to analyze the relationship between taste and volume status and to compare the differences from diabetic to non-diabetic PD patients. The chi-square test was for categorical variables and student's test was for continuous variables. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: (1) Forty-five patients were enrolled. Twenty-four of them were high salt intake (salt clearance not less than 6g each day and blood pressure not lower than 140/90 mmHg), and the other twenty one, who were edema negative, were low salt intake (salt clearance less than 6g each day and blood pressure lower than 140/90 mmHg). The age, gender, proportion of patients with DM, BMI, SCr, BUN, Kt/V(total), Kt/V(RRF), DEI and DPI were not significantly different between the high salt intake and low salt intake. But the salt acuity between the two groups was significantly different. The salt acuity in high salt intake was significantly worse.(2) Fifty-eight patients were enrolled. Twenty-one of them were diabetic, who had significantly severer edema than that in the other thirty-seven non-diabetic. Their Kt/V(total) and Kt/V(RRF) were no significantly difference between the two groups. But the Kt/V(p) in diabetic was significantly lower than that in non-diabetic. The dialyses influent and effluent were significantly different between the two groups. Total salt clearance in diabetics was lower than that in non-diabetic, but there was no statistical difference. The blood glucose, OH and E/I in these two groups were significantly different. But there was no significantly difference in salt acuity between the two groups.Conclusion: (1) There was a relationship between salt intake and salt acuity in PD patients. (2) PD patients with DM was more easily overhydrated. It is related to hyperglycemia rather than to salt acuity.