Abstract
Background & Objective: Malnutrition is very common in hospitalized children and is associated with related clinical consequences such as increased risk of infections, increased muscle loss, impaired wound healing, longer hospital stay and higher morbidity and mortality. The estimated prevalence of acute malnutrition in hospitalized children varies from 6.1 to 40.9% in different countries. The current study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the efficiency of STRONGkids (Screening Tool for Risk On Nutritional Status and Growth) tool for assessing malnutrition in hospitalized children in Iran. Methods: All children older than 28 days admitted to the pediatric hospital (Dr. Sheikh, Mashhad, Iran) were enrolled in this study and the screening tool named STRONGkids was applied for them. The anthropometric measurements were measured by a trained operator using standard methods and equipments. The children were classified in three groups of being at high risk, moderate risk and low risk of malnutrition. Results: According to STRONGkids score; 17% of children were classified as low risk, 75% as moderate risk and 8% as high risk group. According to WFH, HFA and WFA z-scores31.4%, 19.2% and 28% of children were identified as moderately and severely malnourished respectively. According to MUAC cut-offs, 3.4% of children were classified as having moderate malnutrition and there was no child with severe malnutrition. Conclusion: It is very important to recognize the nutritional status of the children as early as possible because of its effects on children’s growth. Therefore, evaluating the nutritional status of the hospitalized children is an essential step in clinical assessment. We suggest to apply the STRONGkids score aside with other clinical and anthropometric data.
Highlights
Malnutrition is very common among hospitalized children
We evaluated the STRONGkids tool that was created in a developed country hospital setting, because its applicability could be different in a developing country setting substantially
The current study considered 83% of children as being at moderate or high nutritional risk according to STRONGkids but only 31.4% were malnourished according to anthropometric measurements (WFH), which this discrepancy is considerable
Summary
Malnutrition is very common among hospitalized children. It has its related health consequences such as increased risk of infections, increased muscle loss, impaired wound healing, longer hospital stay and higher morbidity and mortality [1, 2]. The World Health Organization (WHO) describes malnutrition as “the imbalance between the supply of nutrients and energy, and the body’s demand for them to ensure growth, maintenance, and specific functions [3]. Malnutrition is very common in hospitalized children and is associated with related clinical consequences such as increased risk of infections, increased muscle loss, impaired wound healing, longer hospital stay and higher morbidity and mortality. The current study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the efficiency of STRONGkids (Screening Tool for Risk On Nutritional Status and Growth) tool for assessing malnutrition in hospitalized children in Iran
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More From: International Journal of Child Health and Nutrition
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