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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
medicine
Nutritional status at admission of children with cancer in Malawi
Pediatric Blood and Cancer, Volume 51, No. 5, Year 2008
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Description
Background. Malnutrition at diagnosis is found in 10-50% of children with cancer in industrialized countries. In developing countries a large proportion of the normal paediatric population is undernourished and children with cancer often present late with advanced disease, Therefore it would be expected that many children with cancer are malnourished at admission. Malnutrition is associated with more severe chemotherapy toxicity and infectious complications. Methods. All new paediatric oncology patients admitted in the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre, Malawi between 1, January 2007 and 1, January 2008 were included. We documented age, clinical diagnosis, HIV status, weight, height, mid-upper-arm-circumference (MUAC) and triceps skinfold (TSF), and calculated arm muscle area (AMA). Nutritional data were compared with the 1978 NCHS growth curves. Results. Of 128 children, 70 (55.1%) had an AMA for age <5th percentile and 76 (59.3%) had a TSF and MUAC below the 5th percentile, both parameters indicating acute malnutrition. Fifty seven patients (44.5%) had a height for age <-2 SD (indicative of stunting), and 22 patients (17.2%) had a weight for height (WFH) <-2 SD. Conclusion. Arm anthropometry shows that more than half of Malawian children with cancer are severely acutely malnourished at diagnosis. WFH, in children with large tumour masses, is less sensitive than arm anthropometry in detecting acute malnutrition. Forty-five percent of paediatric oncology patients in Malawi are stunted, making interpretation of weight for age (WFA) very difficult. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Authors & Co-Authors
Israëls, Trijn
Malawi, Zomba
University of Malawi
Netherlands, Amsterdam
Emma Kinderziekenhuis
Chirambo, Chawanangwa
Malawi, Zomba
University of Malawi
Caron, Huib N.
Netherlands, Amsterdam
Emma Kinderziekenhuis
Molyneux, Elizabeth M.
Malawi, Zomba
University of Malawi
Statistics
Citations: 61
Authors: 4
Affiliations: 2
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1002/pbc.21697
ISSN:
15455009
e-ISSN:
15455017
Research Areas
Cancer
Food Security
Health System And Policy
Infectious Diseases
Maternal And Child Health
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Study Locations
Malawi