OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of Shenmai Injection (SMI) on patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) suffered from malnutrition-inflammation complex syndrome (MICS).

METHODSForty patients undergoing MHD were randomly allocated into two groups, the SMI group and the control group, 20 in each group. They were treated for three months. Blood levels of albumin (Alb), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and interleukin 1beta (IL-1beta) as well as stomatologic parameters were measured before and after treatment. Meantime, the modified subjective global analysis of nutrition (SGAN) was used to assess patients' nutritional status, and the quantitative scoring system was adopted to get the malnutrition score (MS).

RESULTSIn the SMI group after treatment, levels of MS, hs-CRP, IL-6 and IL-1beta were lowered, levels of Alb, body weight, and SSF were increased significantly (P <0.05 or P <0.01); as compared with those in the control group, MS, hs-CRP and IL-6 were lower, while SSF and Alb were higher (P<0.05 or P< 0.01). Levels of IL-6 and IL-1beta, either in the SMI group or in the control group, were all higher than normal range (P<0.05). Correlation analysis showed significant correlation presented between MS value with levels of Alb (P<0.01) and IL-6 (P <0.05), also between IL-6 and Alb (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSMI can reduce the blood levels of hs-CRP, IL-6 and IL-1beta in patients undergoing MHD, improve their nutritional indices, suggesting that it could alleviate the MICS in these patients.