Estimation of the salt intake in the kidney transplant recipients

Abstract

【Back ground】Salt restriction is important in recipients of kidney transplant. Excessive salt intake is a risk factor for hypertension and weight gain, and also associated with poor prognosis in patients receiving a kidney graft. We tried to estimate the salt intake in renal-transplant recipients to elucidate the actual condition and the affecting factors of salt intake.【Method】We studied the estimated salt intake during one year after kidney transplantation in 60 patients who received a renal graft between 2008 and 2015 at Nagasaki University Hospital (Male：Female＝35：25, age 45.9±13.9, living：cadaveric＝51：9). Estimation of the amount of salt intake was performed by urine at any time with Tanaka’s equation.【Results】The mean estimated salt intake was 9.0±1.9g/day. The amount of salt intake was significantly higher in patients with hypertension (p＝0.034), body mass index≧24 (p＝0.048) at the time of transplantation, and non-preemptive kidney transplantation cases (p＝0.039). Patients who showed a weight gain≧10% of body weight in a year after transplantation also showed a tendency toward a much larger intake of salt (p＜0.01).【Conclusion】Estimation of salt intake based on urine analysis is relatively easy in routine clinical practice. It would be beneficial to share the results of estimated salt intake with patients to create awareness about the need for strict salt restriction, especially in high-risk cases.