Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To describe the nutritional status of children with cancer during hospital admission in the five different regions of Brazil by Pediatric subjective global nutritional assessment (PSGNA). METHODS: A multicenter, cross-sectional study part of the Brazilian Survey on Oncological Nutrition in Pediatrics (IBNOPe). Patients of both sexes, aged between 2 and 18 years, diagnosed of cancer under treatment in institutions of all regions of Brazil, from March to December of 2018, were eligible. Data were collected from the medical records, using a form prepared exclusively for this research. For subjective nutritional evaluation, the PSGNA questionnaire, adapted by Saraiva et al (2017) for children with cancer, was applied within 48 hours of hospital admission. The classification was made in well nourished, moderately malnourished and severely malnourished. Participating Institutions received training prior to the implementation of the research. Descriptive statistics were performed for statistical analysis. RESULTS: A total of 579 patients were evaluated, 3.3% (n = 19) from the north, 33.0% (n = 191), 20.9% (n = 121) 30) west-west and 37.6% (n = 218) southeast. According to PSGNA data at admission 66.3% were well nourished, 33.7% were malnourished (27.2%) or severely malnourished (6.5%). Considering the region, the southeast presented a higher percentage of severely malnourished children (8.5%), according to the PSGNA. According to anthropometric data, about 23.5% of children presented inadequate anthropometric nutritional status (Zscore < −1) at admission. CONCLUSIONS: PSGNA revealed a high percentage of children with poor nutritional conditions at the time of admission, which may contribute to unfavorable clinical outcomes. The PSGNA seems to be a good alternative for the nutritional evaluation of children with cancer. FUNDING SOURCES: No funding source.