Controlling nutritional (CONUT) score for nutritional screening in kidney transplant recipients

Purpose: Nutrition is severely impaired in individuals with renal impairment, and transplant often ameliorates this condition. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score of kidney transplant (KT) recipients. Materials and methods: Using the data from the nephrology transplant unit, we analyzed 188 patients whose data on the constituents of the CONUT score were available. We included KT individuals with at least one lymphocyte count and total cholesterol and albumin concentrations. This data has been used to calculate the CONUT score. The decrease of lymphocyte counts and total cholesterol was determined with 0, 1, 2, and 3 points, and the reduction of albumin was assigned with 0, 2, 4, and 6 points in agreement with disease severity. Patients were classified according to this score: normal, light, moderate, and severe. Results: There were 138 patients in normal, 54 in light, and three in each moderate and severe group. The CONUT score was good for regular-weight patients both before and after transplantation. All laboratory findings revealed significant differences between CONUT groups (p< 0.05). The logistic regression analysis model, including cholesterol, WBC, and calcium, showed that these three parameters have a predictive value of 80%. Conclusion: After transplantation, the number of patients in the underweight group decreased when normal weight and obesity increased. However, some patients’ nutrition was not ameliorated. The CONUT score may be a useful tool for monitoring transplant patients’ nutritional status.