Abstract
Anorexia has been indicted qualitatively for the poor calorie intake commonly observed in children with ESRD. The contributing factors and the pathophysiology have not been clearly defined. Taste thresholds for salt(NaCl), sour(HCl), sweet(sucrose), and bitter (urea) were quantitatively determined in 14 patients (ages 8-18 years) on chronic hemodialysis and compared with 21 normal controls (ages 8-18 yrs). Detection thresholds for one or more tastants were elevated >2 S.D. above the normal mean in 12 of 14 patients pre-dialysis, while recognition thresholds were high in 9 of 14. Thresholds returned to normal in 5 following dialysis. Abnormal responses to sucrose and HC1 were the most frequent; of the 9 with elevated recognition thresholds, all were abnormal to either sucrose or HC1 while 5 were abnormal to both. Detection for NaCl was elevated in 6 while recognition was high in only 3. Urea recognition was increased in only one patient. Caloric intake was >10th percentile for age in 7 of the 14 patients compared to 3 of 9 with altered taste recognition. All patients with altered detection or recognition for both sucrose and HC1 had caloric intakes <10th percentile. Plasma zinc levels were low in only two, both of whom had abnormalities of taste.
Hypogeusia appears to be common in ESRD and may contribute to the anorexia characteristic of these children. Further understanding of taste acuity may permit specific alterations in dietary therapy which may alleviate some of this disability.
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Spinozzi, N., Murray, C. & Grupe, W. 473 ALTERED TASTE ACUITY IN CHILDREN WITH END-STAGE RENAL DISEASE (ESRD). Pediatr Res 12 (Suppl 4), 442 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197804001-00478
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197804001-00478