For today’s discussion, I decided to analyze an article by Bruci et al. (2018), which focused on assessing the effect of the very-low-calorie ketogenic diet (VLCKD) on health outcomes of patients with mild kidney failure. The authors stated the addressed problem as high protein, ketogenic diets are often looked at with concern by clinicians due to the potential harm they pose to kidney function. Thus, the purpose of the study was to assess the effect of VLCKD on health outcomes and kidney function in patients with mild kidney failure. The researchers used a real-life observational study by continuously observing the health status of patients on VLCKD for three months, which is considered a quasi-experimental study (Gray & Grove, 2021). The researchers concluded that VLCKD was an effective and harmless method of weight loss in patients with kidney diseases if conducted under the supervision of health care professionals.
The researchers did not state that they used any theoretical framework; therefore, it is unclear if the concepts are aligned with the utilized framework. The method utilized by the researchers was clearly explained, which allows replication of the study. The diet specifics, methods for measuring variables, observation process, and data analysis techniques were clearly explained in sufficient detail. The quasi-experimental approach was appropriate for the study, as the researchers could not randomly assign a control group (Gray & Grove, 2021). However, it was crucial to conduct quasi-experimental research rather than a retrospective study to ensure that all the participants went through the same treatment under close supervision of healthcare professionals, which allowed higher reliability and validity of findings. The researchers used a series of paired-sample t-test to compare the physiological characteristics of participants before and after the intervention. The results revealed a significant decrease in body mass (around 27% weight loss) with no significant harm to the health status. Thus, the results supported the conclusion.
References
Bruci, A., Tuccinardi, D., Tozzi, R., Balena, A., Santucci, S., Frontani, R.,… & Watanabe, M. (2020). Very low-calorie ketogenic diet: a safe and effective tool for weight loss in patients with obesity and mild kidney failure. Nutrients, 12(2), 333.
Gray, J. R., & Grove, S. K. (2021). Burns and Grove’s the practice of nursing research: Appraisal, synthesis, and generation of evidence (9th ed.). Elsevier.