Medical Nutritional Therapy in Childhood Kidney Diseases

Abstract

A variety of diseases can affect the kidneys leading to a sudden deterioration in renal function (acute kidney injury) or an irreversible deterioration of renal function (chronic kidney disease). Infants and children with kidney diseases face many dietary manipulations throughout their course of treatment. The nutritional intake of the child is especially important in order the ensure optimal growth and development during all stages of renal disease. Diet modification and implementation must be individualized for all age groups, by taking into account the developmental levels, growth potentials and renal functional limitations. Management goals in children with kidney diseases include slowing of disease progression, prevention and treatment of complications, and optimizing growth, development, and quality of life. Nutritional management is critically important to achieve these goals. In this review recent developments in pediatric kidney diseases will be evaluated focusing on dietary measures to improve outcomes.