title: Expert opinion of nephrologists about the effectiveness of low-protein diet in different stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD).
abstract: No clinical trials have specifically explored the benefits of low-protein diet in patients with different stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD) 3B. In the absence of RCTs, expert opinion may be a valid surrogate to estimate treatment effectiveness. A questionnaire-based survey of a large sample of nephrologists from Southern Italy was conducted to explore benefits of low-protein diet (LPD) in delaying dialysis entry in different CKD stages. For the case vignettes describing eight different patient profiles with various CKD stages, nephrologists reported expected benefits as time delay of dialysis entry. Information was collected through questionnaires filled by 88 nephrologists from different Southern Italian hospitals. On average, nephrologists estimated the highest delay in starting dialysis due to LPD in stages 3B (15 months) and 3A (14 months), and the lowest for 5 stage (3 months). According to opinion of a large sample of Southern Italian nephrologists, low-protein diet may be more efficacious if started in CKD stage 3B than 4 and 5.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina , Messina , Italy .
authors.forename: Gianluca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Trifirò
authors.forename: Pasquale M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Fatuzzo
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ientile
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pizzimenti
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ferrajolo
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Santoro
authors.forename: Nuno
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Camacho
authors.forename: Joost
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Van Rosmalen
authors.forename: Gianluca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: D'Addetta
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lanati
authors.forename: Achille P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Caputi
authors.forename: Giuseppina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Catinello
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Savica
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D018753:Diet, Protein-Restricted; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009398:Nephrology; D010820:Physicians; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D051436:Renal Insufficiency, Chronic / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000628:therapy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Chronic kidney disease; low-protein diet; nephrologists