Malnutrition accelerates the occurrence of infectious complications in patients with chronic kidney disease: A cross-sectional survey of 682 patients with chronic kidney disease

BackgroundTo investigate the influencing factors of infectious complications in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and provide a basis for clinical diagnosis and prognosis evaluation of CKD. MethodsA total of 682 patients with CKD were selected and divided into CKD stage 1-5 subgroups according to their glomerular filtration rate. Infectious complications, length of hospital stay, and total cost of hospitalization were recorded. The Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) diagnostic tool was used to assess the detection rate of malnutrition among patients. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed in patients with and without infectious complications. ResultsThe incidence rates of infectious complications in CKD stages 1-5 were 45.6%, 22.7%, 28.3%, 30.8%, and 40.4%, respectively. The overall detection rate of malnutrition among patients based on the GLIM criteria was 16.7%. The total detection rate of severe malnutrition was 14.2%, with all patients with severe malnutrition in CKD stages 3-5. The incidences of infectious complications in patients with and without malnutrition were 62.3% and 29%, respectively. Binary multivariate logistic regression analysis shows that malnutrition is a risk factor for infectious complications in patients with CKD, who are at 2.41 times higher risk than patients without malnutrition. There were significant differences in length of hospital stay and hospitalization costs between the patients with CKD with and without infectious complications (P < 0.01). ConclusionInfectious complications are relatively common in patients with CKD. As CKD advances, the incidence of infectious complications increases. Moreover, malnutrition accelerates the occurrence of infectious complications in patients with CKD.