Abstract
Nationwide studies have focused only on prevalence of malnutrition in hospitalized children, while medical nutrition therapies and assessing nutritional interventions is neglected. This research was conducted in tertiary level children hospitals in the NorthEastern region of Iran for 1 year from 2016 to 2017. Five questions were included in the initial assessment form and, if there was even one positive response, nutritional interventions were prescribed for the patients. A total of 65 children aged ≥ 5 years and hospitalized for ≥ two days were included. 24.6% of patients had 2 >BMI Z-score>-2 at time of admission. At the beginning of the study, weight loss more than 10%, and appetite loss or decreased food intake was observed in 10.8% and 20% of the study population, respectively. Median BMI percentile of patients with nutritional intervention was 8.9 (0.1-98.7) at the beginning of the study and 12.7 (0.1-98.4) at discharge time which shows a significant difference (P=0.01). Medical nutrition therapy employed in this study prevented deterioration of nutritional status of children during hospitalization and was effective in stabilizing indices of nutritional status.
Highlights
The daily metabolism of children depends on receiving substrates such as food and vitamins[1]
The primary type of malnutrition that occurs due to inadequate food intake is most often seen in developing countries, and the second type occurs in developed countries that is associated with chronic diseases[4]
body mass index (BMI) Z-score of 24.6% (n=16) of patients was a sign of malnutrition
Summary
The daily metabolism of children depends on receiving substrates such as food and vitamins[1]. By early detection of children at risk for developing malnutrition, intervention and treatment can be started when is more effective and less expensive[8]. In spite of this fact, there is limited information on the malnourished children at time of admission, during hospitalization and at discharge time[9], because, nutritional screening tools were designed to address adult patients and it is not too late that pediatric tools have been developed[7]. Nationwide studies have focused only on prevalence of malnutrition in hospitalized children, while medical nutrition therapies and assessing nutritional interventions is neglected.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
