Abstract
Objectives:This study was done to determine the effect of malnutrition on mortality in Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and on the pediatric risk of mortality (PRISM) scoring.Subjects and Methods:This was a prospective study done over 1 year. There were total 400 patients (1 month 14 years), who were divided into cases with weight for age <3rd centile and controls with ≥3rd centile of WHO charts. Cases were subdivided into mild/moderate (61–80% of expected weight for age) and severe malnutrition (<60%).Results:Out of total, 38.5% patients were underweight, and malnutrition was more in infancy, 61/104, i.e. 58.5% (P - 0.003). There was no significant difference in vitals at admission. Cases needed prolonged mechanical ventilation (P - 0.0063) and hospital stay (P - 0.0332) compared to controls. Mean and median PRISM scores were comparable in both the groups, but mortality was significantly higher in severely malnourished (P value 0.027).Conclusion:Severe malnutrition is independently associated with higher mortality even with similar PRISM score. There is need to give an additional score to children with weight for age <60% of expected.
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