Malnutrition among patients admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) is common. However, there is a lack of data on its impact on the critically ill.

To assess the impact of nutritional status on the outcome of critically ill children admitted to PICU.

This observational study was conducted in a tertiary care teaching institute for one year, including 210 children aged 1 month to 14 years admitted to a 15-bed PICU for a minimum of 24 hours. Patients with less than 24 hours of PICU stay, who received palliative care, or with syndromic short stature were excluded. Relevant data were collected including anthropometric details, demographic data, duration of mechanical ventilation (MV), PICU, and hospital stay and outcome. Malnourished and well-nourished groups were compared using an independent t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and χ² test.

Among 210 patients, there were 129 males and 81 females. There were 57 (27.1%) children less than 6 months of age, 95 (45.2%) between 6 months and 5 years, and 58 (27.6%) more than 5 years of age. The prevalence of malnutrition in the study sample was 51.9% (n = 109). The overall mortality was 22.9% (48/210), 26.6% (29/109) among malnourished, and 18.8% (19/101) among well-nourished children (P = 0.241). A significant association was found between the severity of malnutrition and duration of MV (P = 0.001), PICU stay (P = 0.001), and hospital stay (P = 0.021).

Malnutrition is common in critically ill children and contributes to poor clinical outcomes such as duration of MV, PICU, and hospital stay. However, mortality was comparable in both groups.

• Well-nourished
• Malnourished
• Pediatric intensive care unit
• Mortality
• Critically ill
• Child

• Humans
• Enteral Nutrition/methods
• Critical Illness/therapy
• Child

• critical care
• hdu care
• pediatrics
• picu care
• resource limited setting

• Malnutrition
• Mortality
• Nutritional status
• PICU
• PIM2

• Humans
• Brain Neoplasms/surgery
• Intensive Care Units, Pediatric
• Child, Preschool
• Male
• Child
• Female
• Nutritional Status
• Prospective Studies
• Infant
• Length of Stay
• Adolescent
• Malnutrition
• Energy Intake
• Body Mass Index
• Treatment Outcome
• Nutrition Assessment
• Body Weight

• Child
• Parenteral nutrition
• Pediatrics

• Mortality
• Nutritional status
• PIM2
• Underfeeding

• calorie
• malnutrition
• nutritional assessment
• pediatric intensive care
• protein

Background

Malnutrition develops when there is an inadequacy of one or more than one macronutrient for optimum body functioning. This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) in children with protein-calorie malnutrition (PCM) in terms of weight gain and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) improvement.

Methodology

This prospective observational study was done at The Department of Pediatrics, National Institute of Child Health, Karachi, Pakistan from 1^st January 2021 to 31^st December 2021. A total of 159 children of either gender between six and 59 months of age and diagnosed with PCM were included. All children participating in the study were asked to come back for a follow-up every two weeks until they are 12 weeks old. Outcomes were measured in terms of comparison of weight gain and MUAC at baseline and after 12 weeks of RUTF.

Results

Of the 159 children, 94 (59.1%) were female. The mean age was 16.8±9.2 months, and 88 (55.3%) children were aged between six to 12 months. The mean body weight was 6.8±9.7 kg. The mean MUAC was calculated to be 116±9.1 mm. There were 121 (76.1%) children who had severe acute malnutrition. One hundred and thirty-one children completed the planned 12-week of follow-up using RUTF in this study, so they were included in the final analysis. Body weight increased significantly from baseline to 12-weeks after RUTF (6.8±1.7 kg vs. 7.6±1.2kg, p<0.0001). Likewise, MUAC also increased from baseline to 12 weeks after RUTF (116.0±9.1 mm vs. 127.2±8.2 mm, p<0.0001).

Conclusion

The RUTF was found to significantly improve weight gain and MUAC among children aged between six to 60 months with PCM during a period of 12-weeks. Early diagnosis and timely intervention can improve outcomes among children with PCM. Community-based interventions can be aimed to improve the nutritional status of children in a developing country like Pakistan.

Nutritional problems are increasingly associated with acute infections. It is also related to further complications of illnesses and poor treatment outcomes of medical conditions. This study aimed to assess wasting and associated factors among critically ill children admitted to intensive care units at the time of admission.

An institution-based prospective observational study was employed among children admitted to pediatric intensive care of the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital from February 1, 2018, to July 30, 2019. Data about socio-demographic, clinical, and anthropometric measurements were taken from children at the time of admission and length of hospital stay and treatment-related data were collected by chart review at discharge. Summary measures were computed and presented in the form of text, tables, and graphs. A p-value of less than 0.2 was used to select candidate variables for multivariable analysis. A binary logistic regression model was fitted to identify factors associated with wasting. Adjusted odds ratio with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated and variables with a p-value less than 0.05 in the multi-variable analysis were considered to declare factors associated with wasting.

The median age at admission was 48 (IQR: 12 to 122) months. Of the total admitted children to ICU, 47.97% were undernourished, of which 32% (95%CI: (26.8% to 37.4%) were severely wasted. Caregivers who had no formal education (AOR=4.43, 95%CI 1.62 12.10), transferred from wards (AOR=2.98, 95%CI: 1.02 8.69), duration of illness ≥6 days before health facility visit (AOR=2.14, 95%CI: 1.22 3.72) and comorbidity (AOR=6.85, 95%CI: 2.93 16.05) were statistically significant factors associated with wasting.

Wasting was high among children admitted to the intensive care unit. No formal education, transferred from wards and operation rooms, longer duration of illness before health facility visits, and comorbidity were factors associated with wasting. Wasted patients had higher mortality as compared to patients with no wasting. A multicenter study with larger sample size is recommended for a more generalizable result.

• Children
• Ethiopia
• Intensive care units
• Wasting

• Stunting
• mechanical ventilation
• pediatric intensive care unit
• wasting

• Child
• Cross-Sectional Studies
• Ethiopia/epidemiology
• Humans
• Intensive Care Units, Pediatric
• Malnutrition/epidemiology
• Prevalence
• Retrospective Studies
• Tertiary Care Centers

• length of stay
• mortality incidence
• nutrition status
• pediatric intensive care unit
• the need for and length of time on mechanical ventilation
• undernutrition

Infants hospitalized for critical illnesses are at a high risk of undernutrition because of increased nutrient requirements (due to increased metabolism) and decreased nutrient intake (due to disease-related problems such as anorexia or feeding difficulties). This can result in a slowing down of their normal growth, referred to as “growth faltering.” Appropriate nutritional management of these infants is extremely important to avoid long-term adverse outcomes. Administration of energy- and nutrient-dense formula (ENDF; 100 kcal energy and 2.6 g protein per 100 mL, with added micronutrients) can be an effective means of increasing the nutrient and energy intake of these children. Despite the high prevalence of undernutrition and growth faltering among pediatric patients in India, there is a paucity of literature on the use of ENDF in Indian infants. Herein, we report the successful use of ENDF for the nutritional management of two infants hospitalized for growth faltering because of severe upper airway obstruction. The aim of nutritional management was to achieve satisfactory weight gain, which can lead to spontaneous resolution of upper airway obstruction. ENDF was initially administered to provide 50–100 kcal/kg/day, and the dose was gradually increased to 160–185 kcal/kg/day. Both infants tolerated the formula well and showed satisfactory weight gain. These cases clearly demonstrate that early administration of ENDF is an effective means of increasing nutrient and energy intake of critically ill infants, thereby facilitating catchup growth, without any notable adverse effects.

• ENDF
• India
• PICU
• catchup growth
• growth faltering
• infant
• nutritional management

• Enteral feeding
• Malnutrition
• Nutrition
• Respiratory failure