Effects of electronic aids on dietary compliance and acid load in chronic kidney disease patients

Objective To explore the effects of electronic aids on dietary compliance and acid load in chronic kidney disease(CKD) patients.Methods A total of 116 patients with metabolic acidosis plus CKD3-4 at CKD management clinic were recruited and divided into two groups by single/double digit random method.Control group(n=49) received routine care and health tutorial according to CKD stages while research group(n=54) had additional electronic aids.Baseline demographics,medication usage,renal function,biochemistry,urinary protein,attitude/behavior score of dietary compliance and other indicators were collected and compared with those after 12-month intervention.Results A total of 103 patients completed follow-ups.No statistically significant inter-group difference in baseline clinical characteristics(P<0.05).The values of daily protein intake(DPI) and normalized protein equivalent of nitrogen appearance(nPNA) of research group were lower than baseline(P<0.05).After 12 months,the total score of attitude/behavior score of dietary compliance was higher in research group than control group.And the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05);potential renal acid load(PRAL) was lower(P<0.05) and blood total carbon dioxide(T-CO₂) significantly higher(P<0.05).Serum levels of creatinine and estimated glomerular filtration rate(eGFR) in research group had no significant change from baseline(P>0.05) and blood urea declined from baseline(P<0.05);serum levels of creatinine and urea increased in control group(P<0.05) and eGFR decreased from baseline(P<0.05).Conclusion The integration of electronic intelligent aids in the management of CKD patients can boost dietary compliance,improve metabolic acidosis and delay the decline of renal function.