Nutritional status of children with congenital heart disease.

Abstract

Objective-To assess the nutritional status of children with congenital heart disease.Design-Six anthropometric, 24 biochemical, and five haematological markers of nutritional wellbeing were measured in children with congenital heart disease. Setting-The west of Scotland. Patients-48 children admitted consecutively for surgical correction of congenital heart disease. Main outcome measures-Height, weight, and triceps and subscapular skin fold thicknesses were considered abnormal if they were below the third centile compared with standard reference data for age matched British children. Midarm circumference and arm muscle circumference were considered abnormal if they fell below the fifth centile compared with standard data. Biochemical and haematological data were compared with age matched and locally validated laboratory normals. Results-A marked degree of undernutrition was evident in all children; 52% had weight less than the third centile, 37% were below the third centile for height, and 12-5% were below the third centile for triceps skin fold thickness and 18-8% for subscapular skin fold thickness. Midarm circumference and arm muscle circumference were below the fifth centile in 20*1% and 16*7% of children respectively. Five or more of the 29 biochemical and haematological measurements were abnormal in 83-3% of patients; 10 or more were abnormal in 12-5% of patients. Conclusions-Children with congenital heart disease are frequendy undernourished, irrespective of the nature of cardiac defect and the presence or absence of cyanosis. (Br HeartJ_ 1995;73:277-283)

Caracterização Alimentar De Crianças Com Cardiopatias Congênitas

“…Somandose a isso, a má absorção presente nas crianças cardiopatas limita significativamente a tolerância alimentar e afeta a capacidade da criança para maximizar o consumo calórico, bem como diminui a absorção de nutrientes (3). Dessa forma, a desnutrição é constante nessas crianças, independente da natureza do defeito cardíaco e da presença ou não de cianose (4).…”

Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy in Pediatric Patients

“…The cause of this thought to be multifactorial and may include factors such as inadequate caloric intake, increased oxygen consumption, hypermetabolism, reduced absorption, and feeding intolerance (Mitchell et al, 1995, Leitch, 2000. These factors reflect the need for increased energy intake, and thus www.intechopen.com…”

Improved Nutrition Delivery and Nutrition Status in Critically Ill Children With Heart Disease

“…[7][8][9][10] Lower than growth velocity than that expected for age and gender is prevalent in infants and children with congenital heart disease and may be due to inadequate nutrition delivery. [11][12][13][14][15] In infants with single-ventricle physiology, providing adequate nutrition can be particularly difficult. 8,10 For infants undergoing staged palliation, the interstage period (after S1P and before the Glenn procedure) can be particularly challenging and is a time of increased risk of mortality.…”