title: Assessment of nutritional status of postoperative patients with biliary atresia.
abstract: Some patients of biliary atresia (BA) suffer from chronic hepatic dysfunction and/or persistent jaundice. The adverse effects of chronic liver disease on nutrition and growth should be considered on BA patients. We studied 45 BA patients ranging in age from 0.5 to 38 years and divided them into 2 groups. Group A contains the patients whose total bilirubin > or = 2 mg/100 ml, and Group B contains the patients whose total bilirubin < 2 mg/100 ml. We measured height, weight, triceps skin fold (TSF), midarm circumference (MAC) and midarm muscle area (MAMA). Visceral protein kinetics was evaluated on the basis of serum albumin and prealbumin levels. Caloric and protein intake was calculated by collecting intake data for 3 days. The results of this study were; 1) The mean TSF in Group A (47th percentile) was not significantly different from that in Group B (53th percentile). 2) The mean MAMA was significantly lower (p < 0.01) in Group A (16.4th percentile) than in Group B (36.7th percentile) 3) The prealbumin level was significantly lower (p < 0.001) in Group A (mean 9.9 mg/100 ml) than in Group B (mean 18.8 mg/100 ml). The authors conclude that the evaluation of MAMA and prealbumin were very useful to characterize the low metabolic status of protein in the damaged liver. And repeated nutritional assessment was necessary to evaluate liver function and provide adequate nutrition in BA patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Surgery, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shiga
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ohi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chiba
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nio
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Endo
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mito
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hino
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001656:Biliary Atresia / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D001827:Body Height / Q000502:physiology; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004032:Diet; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates / Q000378:metabolism; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D008297:Male; D009748:Nutrition Disorders / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D009752:Nutritional Status / Q000502:physiology*; D011171:Portoenterostomy, Hepatic; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011228:Prealbumin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D004044:Dietary Proteins; D011228:Prealbumin