title: [Prevalence of protein-energy undernutrition evaluated by the measurement of triceps skinfold thickness and mid-arm muscle circumference of 103 adults with cirrhosis of the liver hospitalized in the department of hepatology and gastroenterology of the Lomé Campus University Hospital (Togo)].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate by a reliable method the protein-energy nutritional status of adults hospitalized in the hepatology and gastroenterology department of the Lomé Campus University Hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional prospective study conducted from March 1 to September 15, 2012, included 103 inpatients aged at least 16 years. The variables evaluated were: triceps skinfold thickness (TST), mid-arm muscle circumference (MAMC), serum albumin, CRP, and orosomucoid. The Child-Pugh classification was used to evaluate the clinical severity of liver disease.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Within this population of patients with cirrhosis, 40 were alcohol-dependent (39.0%) and 85 had anorexia (82.5%); 49 were in group B of the Child-Pugh classification, and 37 in group C. We found a non-significant (p = 0.324) difference in TST measurement between the three Child-Pugh groups: A (8.4 ± 4.5); B (6.1 ± 3.7); and C (6.4 ± 7.2). The prevalence of protein-energy malnutrition ranged from 52.0% to 82.5%, when evaluated by MAMC or TST. Our results confirm the need to pay additional attention to the protein-energy nutritional status of inpatients in this department, by adding reliable tools, such as the TST and MAMC, to the biochemistry analysis to characterize undernutrition.
authors.affiliation: École supérieure des techniques biologiques et alimentaires (ESTBA), Université de Lomé, CHU Campus, unité de biochimie, BP 7544 Lomé, Togo.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kouassi
authors.affiliation: Service d'hépato-gastro-entérologie, CHU Campus, Université de Lomé, Lomé, Togo.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bagny
authors.affiliation: Service d'hépato-gastro-entérologie, CHU Campus, Université de Lomé, Lomé, Togo.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kaaga
authors.affiliation: Service d'hépato-gastro-entérologie, CHU Campus, Université de Lomé, Lomé, Togo.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bouglouga
authors.affiliation: Service d'hépato-gastro-entérologie, CHU Campus, Université de Lomé, Lomé, Togo.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lawson Anani-Soh
authors.affiliation: Département de biochimie nutrition, faculté des sciences, Lomé, Togo.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lamboni
authors.affiliation: Service d'hépato-gastro-entérologie, CHU Campus, Université de Lomé, Lomé, Togo, Département de biochimie nutrition, faculté des sciences, Lomé, Togo.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Redah
mesh_terms: D001132:Arm / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D001837:Body Weights and Measures; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005762:Gastroenterology; D006748:Hospital Departments; D006760:Hospitalization; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000150:complications; D008875:Middle Aged; D009752:Nutritional Status; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011502:Protein-Energy Malnutrition / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D012885:Skinfold Thickness; D014037:Togo
keywords: Child-Pugh; MAMC; TST; cirrhosis; hepatopathy; undernutrition