[Nutritional index in heart diseases in childhood].
OBJECTIVE
To study heart disease in childhood aiming to know its incidence and consequences upon the nutritional status.


METHODS
Two-hundred patients were distributed in three groups: 1) 113 (56.5%) with congenital acyanotic form; 2) 19 (9.5%) with congenital cyanotic form and 3) 68 (34%) with acquired forms. All of them regularly visiting the ambulatory service of Paediatric cardiology of the Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto da USP from 1987 until 1990.


RESULTS
The majority (92%) of the children (being 56% male and aging 5.1 +/- 0.4 years-old) showed nutritional indexes between 5 and 95 (percentile scale). The overall diagnosis distribution were: 1) ventricular septal defect (51 cases); 2) atrial septal defect (21 cases); 3) valvular diseases (21 cases); 4) arrhythmias (20 cases); 5) cardiac involvement of systemic diseases (20 cases); and 6) tetralogy complex (8 cases). Twelve patients (6%) were underscored (below percentile 5) and only 4 (2%) scored above percentile 95 (obese patients). The comparison of the mean indexes were found statistical different (p less than 0.05), being the cyanotic congenital forms the worst ones and the acquired forms the best one.


CONCLUSIONS
Heart disease in childhood is associated to nutritional index deficits in the majority of the cases.
Granzotti
J A
JA
Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto-USP.
Falha
S L
SL
Nunes
M D
MD
D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status / Q000502:physiology*
Indice nutricional em cardiopatias na infância.