IMPACTS OF LEUKEMIA ON THE NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF PEDIATRIC PATIENTS ADMITTED TO A HIGH COMPLEXITY HOSPITAL IN NORTH RIO GRANDE DO SUL

Abstract

Leukemias are related to changes in the nutritional profile, which can cause weight loss and malnutrition, making it necessary to carry out nutritional screening, enabling the identification of the nutritional status and adequate intervention. The aim of this study is to evaluate the nutritional profile of pediatric patients affected by leukemia, admitted to a High Complexity Hospital in the North of Rio Grande do Sul. Retrospective study, that you used secondary data from pediatric patients with leukemia, including patients aged 0 to 12 years, hospitalized from September 2017 to August 2020. The assessment used demographic, anthropometric, clinical and dietary indicators. Forty-six patients were evaluated, with the most prevalent being acute lymphocytic leukemia (80%), males (56.5%) and aged 0-5 years (52.2%). Regarding nutritional status, there was a prevalence of normal weight, but 97.9% were at nutritional risk. Regarding weight loss, most did not present. In the assessment of food intake, it was observed that 56.6% of patients were characterized with a regular/poor food intake. Nonetheless, 73.9% did not attain the estimated nutritional needs for calories. Regarding nutritional therapy, most patients were in oral nutritional therapy use, representing 41.3%. The most reported gastrointestinal symptoms were inappetence, nausea, mucositis, vomiting, diarrhea and constipation. It was possible to observe that among the patients who had diarrhea, all of them were in enteral nutritional therapy (100%), data that demonstrates a statistically significant association of p=0.010. It is concluded that, despite the adequate nutritional status, the nutritional risk was evidenced, furthermore, gastrointestinal symptoms interfere in food intake, therefore the role of a dietitian is essential to assess and intervene early, avoiding possible complications in the nutritional status of patients.