Abstract
Introduction: This study investigated the applicability of the Subjective Global Nutritional Assessment (SGNA) tool to evaluate the nutritional status of pediatric cancer patients. Methods: This was a multicenter, observational cohort study of infants, children, and adolescents diagnosed with malignant tumors. Participants were evaluated at the moment they were diagnosed with a malignant tumor (EV1) and at the third month of treatment (EV2). Objective data were collected and the SGNA questionnaire was applied. Correlation between the methods was performed using the Kendall test. Results: We evaluated 216 patients at EV1 and 172 patients at EV2. During EV1, 7% of patients presented with some degree of malnutrition, according to objective measures, and 35.7% according to the SGNA. During EV2, they presented 6.4% and 26.8%, respectively. The SGNA showed ability to diagnose more malnutrition than objective indicators and the agreement found between both methods was moderate and weak. We observed a significant correlation between the SGNA and the nutritional indicators (p = <0.002), thus proving its efficacy in assessing nutritional status. Conclusion: The SGNA was applicable for evaluating the nutritional status of children and adolescents diagnosed with malignant tumors, and effective in tracking malnutrition prevalence when compared to objective nutritional assessment methods.
Highlights
This study investigated the applicability of the Subjective Global Nutritional Assessment (SGNA) tool to evaluate the nutritional status of pediatric cancer patients
Patients between 30 days and 18 years of age, of both sexes, who were diagnosed with malignant tumors and began treatment in either one of the 3 hospitals, were invited to participate in the study
A total of 216 assessments were performed at the moment of diagnosis of a malignant tumor (EV1) and 172 evaluations were performed during the third month of treatment (EV2)
Summary
This study investigated the applicability of the Subjective Global Nutritional Assessment (SGNA) tool to evaluate the nutritional status of pediatric cancer patients. Cancer is an NCD and represents a major public health problem in both developed and developing countries. In Brazil, an estimated 420,000 new cancer cases were diagnosed between 2018 and 2019. For young children and adolescents, there were an estimated 12,500 new cases. Malnutrition in children and adolescents undergoing cancer treatment is a poor prognostic factor. Cancer treatment itself predisposes patients to loss of appetite, increased basal metabolism, fever, and infection, which, in turn, may favor depletion of nutritional status (NS), delaying antineoplastic treatment and increasing the average length of hospital stay
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