UC Irvine

Poor nutritional status and protein-energy wasting are common among maintenance dialysis patients and associated with unfavorable outcomes. Providing foods, meal trays, snack boxes, and/or oral nutritional supplements during hemodialysis can improve nutritional status and might also reduce inflammation, enhance health-related quality of life, boost patient satisfaction, and improve survival. Potential challenges include postprandial hypotension and other hemodynamic instabilities, aspiration risk, gastrointestinal symptoms, hygiene issues, staff burden, reduced solute removal, and increased costs. Differing in-center nutrition policies exist within organizations and countries around the world. Recent studies have demonstrated clinical benefits and highlight the need to work toward clear guidelines. Meals or supplements during hemodialysis may be an effective strategy to improve nutritional status with limited reports of complications in real-world scenarios. Whereas larger multicenter randomized trials are needed, meals and supplements during hemodialysis should be considered as a part of the standard-of-care practice for patients without contraindications.