Risks of undernutrition and malnutrition in hospitalized pediatric patients with spinal cord injury.

STUDY DESIGN

Prospective study.

OBJECTIVES

To describe the nutritional risk/status of Chinese children with spinal cord injury (SCI) at admission and determine the relationship between nutritional risk/status and demography/SCI characteristics.

SETTING

China Rehabilitation Research Center, Beijing, China.

METHODS

Baseline clinical data, appetite level, anthropometric measurements and Screening Tool for the Assessment of Malnutrition in Pediatrics (STAMP) scores were obtained for pediatric SCI patients. The relationships among the demographic/SCI characteristics and STAMP score and z-scores of weight-for-age (WAZ), height-for-age (HAZ) and body mass index-for-age (BAZ) were assessed. The risk of undernutrition was compared with actual nutritional status.

RESULTS

Forty-five children including 12 boys and 33 girls were included. The risks of undernutrition using the STAMP tool and malnutrition were 51.1% and 55.6%, respectively. Children with different demographic characteristics had similar nutritional status and risk of malnutrition. The risk of undernutrition was associated with nutritional status, including WAZ (P<0.001), HAZ (P=0.001), BAZ (P<0.001) and appetite level (P<0.001). Compared with nutritional status, STAMP had a sensitivity of 100%, a specificity of 73.3% and an overall agreement of 82.2%. As the duration of SCI increased, the risks of overweight and stunting increased.

CONCLUSIONS

Nutritional screening in all pediatric SCI patients should be performed periodically. The decreasing trends in nutritional status and appetite level after SCI require special attention. The STAMP may be an alternative method for assessing nutritional status in Chinese children with SCI.