Assessment of the trophological status of children with rheumatic diseases

Abstract

Background. Analyzing modern medical literature, it can be noted that in pediatric rheumatology, insufficient attention is paid to assessing the trophological status of sick children. Purpose: to investigate the nutritional status of children with various nosological forms of rheumatic diseases (RD). Materials and methods. The nutritional status of 35 children with RD was investigated, of which 5 patients had systemic variant of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), 13 patients had articular form of JIA, 4 patients had systemic lupus erythematosus, 3 patients had mixed connective tissue disease (Sharp’s syndrome), 6 children had juvenile systemic scleroderma, 4 patients had juvenile dermatomyositis. All patients underwent a generally accepted comprehensive clinical, laboratory and instrumental examination. To assess the trophological status, the body mass index and the blood serum leptin were determined by the enzyme immunoassay and the trophological status coefficient was calculated. Results. The results of the conducted studies indicate that trophological insufficiency of varying degrees manifested in 78.5 % of children with RD in a decrease in body weight, depletion of muscle mass, adipose tissue, changes in the skin and its appendages, mucous membranes, organs of vision, oral cavity, cardiovascular system. The most pronounced trophological insufficiency was found in children with systemic JIA, with juvenile scleroderma and dermatomyositis.