Assessment of malnutrition in patient with liver cirrhosis and its association with dietary intake

Abstract

Introduction: Cirrhosis is incurable, irreversible chronic liver disease and impose a health and economic burden. Malnutrition is related to the progression of liver dysfunction and it is associated with many complications. The current study aims to perform a nutritional assessment for patients with liver cirrhosis using SGA, and study the relationship between protein energy malnutrition and severity of liver cirrhosis using Child-Pugh score. Patients and methods: Cross-sectional study was conducted in Baghdad medical city for 4 months on 50 liver cirrhotic patients. Patients were interviewed, recall diet history, current nutritional requirement, SGA and Child-Pugh score were calculated for each patient, p value ≤ 0.05 were considered significant Results: The average age was 54.7±14.7 years. Majority were men, married, of primary or less education, living in urban settings. NAFLD (34%) and alcohol (32%) were the leading causes. Twenty-nine (58%) had sever disease and 16 (32%) were malnourished. The study showed a significant association between severity of disease and patients’ state of nutrition.