[Evaluation and nutritional therapy in cirrhotic patients of the "Edgardo Rebagliati Martins" hospital].

A nutritional evaluation was carried out in 43 cirrhotic outpatients who came to the Digestive Disease Department of the Edgardo Rebagliati Martins Hospital for a checkup. The evaluation included a dietary composition analysis; nutritional status through the analysis of lean and fatty mass through anthropometric parameters (tricipital skin fold thickness, midarm muscle circumference, muscle arm circumference and creatinine excretion in the 24 h urine/height ratio), measuring of visceral proteins (albumin, transferrin) and bioelectric Impedance. Finally, a nutritional dietary intervention was made according to international standards for cirrhotic patients. The Child - Pugh score was: Child A: 16 patients (37.1%), Child B: 20 patients (46.5%) and Child C: 7 patients (16.4%). The dietary analysis showed the following: Hypoprotein diets in 42 patients (98%), hypocaloric diets in 38 patients (88%), low fat diets in 36 patients (83.7%) only one patient had a normal diet. Nutritional status was normal in 15 patients (35%), 24 patients had protein malnutrition (56%) and 4 patients had protein-calorie malnutrition (9.3%). There was an association between Child B and C and the malnutrition diagnosis was (p = 0.045). The nutritional intervention was carried out in 19 of the 43 patients (dietary therapy) during 15 months; the results were 17 hospital admissions in the group without nutritional intervention and 6 in the group that had received nutritional intervention: (p = 0.01). Malnutrition and inadequate diets are becoming a prevalent problem in our cirrhotic population. Nutritional support may provide an additional and valuable therapy to decrease patient morbidity.