Evaluation of a Simple Low-cost Intervention to Empower People with CKD to Reduce Their Dietary Salt Intake: OxCKD1, a Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial

KEY POINTS: A randomized controlled trial demonstrates that a simple and cheap 1-month intervention empowers people with CKD to lower their dietary salt intake. The effect of the intervention persisted after the intervention finished. BACKGROUND: To evaluate the efficacy of a simple low-cost intervention to empower people with CKD to reduce their dietary salt intake. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial in primary and secondary care comparing the OxSalt care bundle intervention versus standard care for 1 month. Participants were people with CKD and an eGFR >20 ml/min per 1.73 m(2) and were recruited from primary and secondary care. The primary outcome was a reduction in dietary salt intake, as assessed by 24-hour urinary sodium excretion, after 1 month of the intervention. RESULTS: Two hundred and one participants were recruited. Dietary salt intake, as assessed from 24-hour urine sodium excretion, fell by 1.9 (±2.9) g/d in the intervention group compared with 0.4 (±2.7) g/d in the control group (P < 0.001). Salt intake was still reduced to a lesser extent over the following year in the intervention group. CONCLUSIONS: A short, low-cost, easily delivered intervention empowers people with CKD to reduce their dietary salt intake. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01552317.