Assessment of nutritional status in children and adolescents with post-infectious bronchiolitis obliterans.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the nutritional status of children and adolescents with bronchiolitis obliterans and to analyze associations with clinical and nutritional factors.


METHODS
The study included 57 patients. Nutritional status was assessed using z scores for weight/age, stature/age, weight/stature in children, and stature/age and body mass index percentiles in adolescents. Body composition was assessed via tricipital skin folds, subscapular skin folds, and the sum of both plus the muscular circumference of the arm; pulmonary function was also investigated in subjects over 8 years old.


RESULTS
The high percentages of malnutrition and risk for malnutrition are noteworthy: 21.7 and 17.5%, respectively. Among children, weight/age and stature/age detected higher percentages of malnutrition (21.6 and 16.2%), while weight/stature underestimated this diagnosis. Among adolescents, body mass index detected a high percentage of malnutrition (25%) and of risk for malnutrition (20%). Body composition analysis detected 51% of patients with low muscle reserves, and the majority of patients had normal fat reserves. Compromised pulmonary function was associated with poor performance at exercise (r = 0.434; p = 0.024). Malnutrition and/or nutritional risk and low muscle reserves were significantly associated with the 6-minute walk test (p = 0.032; p = 0.030). There was no association between spirometry and the nutritional variables (p > 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
These results emphasize the need for nutritional intervention, and suggest that, in addition to using weight and height indices for nutritional assessment, it is necessary to combine these with an analysis of body composition, so that a larger number of patients with malnutrition and/or at an increased risk for developing malnutrition may be identified and correctly managed.
Bosa
Vera Lúcia
VL
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. vbosa@terra.com.br
Mello
Elza Daniel de
ED
Mocelin
Helena Teresinha
HT
Benedetti
Franceliane Jobim
FJ
Fischer
Gilberto Bueno
GB
D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001823:Body Composition / Q000502:physiology*; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D001989:Bronchiolitis Obliterans / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009752:Nutritional Status / Q000502:physiology*; D009765:Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013147:Spirometry