Training can improve patients' fluid, salt intake in hemodialysis

(HealthDay)—For patients undergoing hemodialysis, a controlled fluid and salt intake training process can decrease consumption of both salt and fluid, according to a study published online June 28 in the Journal of Renal Care.

Eylem Topbaş, Ph.D., from the Amasya University School of Health in Turkey, and colleagues conducted an experimental study to examine the impact of controlled fluid and salt intake training on the intra-dialytic process and level of patients' knowledge. The authors examined the effectiveness of controlled training at zero, one, three, and six months.

The researchers found that between the preliminary and final test, there were no significant differences in salt intake exceeding 3 g per day (P > 0.05), although there was a significant change between months one and three. By the end of the third month, the effectiveness of training decreased. Prior to and after training at all time points, there was a significant change with respect to the rates of daily fluid intake exceeding 1,500 ml, hypovolemia, hypervolemia, awareness of salt-rich food, and patients' correct calculation of daily fluid intake. After training, there was also a significant reduction in the volume of edema.

"The training was effective at some time points in decreasing salt and fluid intake," the authors write. "This training should be repeated at certain intervals for the behavioral changes to become permanent."