Frequência de desnutrição segundo o Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition em pacientes cirúrgicos de Maceió – Alagoas

Abstract

The present study was part of a larger project entitled “Clinical and nutritional aspects of patients who are candidates for surgery at a university hospital in Northeast Brazil”. With it, it was intended to describe the clinical and nutritional profile of patients who are candidates for surgeries in a University Hospital in Northeast Brazil. Since the study of malnutrition, especially in the hospital environment, has gained prominence, it is estimated that between 30% and 50% of patients hospitalized in wards are malnourished or at risk of malnutrition. Considering that the surgical act itself triggers systemic changes, it is necessary to improve the approach criteria for identifying patients at nutritional risk, who are predisposed to malnutrition during their hospital stay. In order to reinforce this care, as well as standardize the diagnosis of malnutrition, the various clinical nutrition societies formed the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM). Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the prevalence of malnutrition, according to the GLIM criteria, in patients admitted to a surgical clinic at a University Hospital in Maceió-Alagoas. Cross-sectional study, carried out between August 2021 and July 2022. This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Alagoas, under Certificate of Presentation and Ethical Appreciation (CAAE), nº 47896321.9.0000.5013, all patients provided their written informed consent prior to data collection. Demographic, socioeconomic, clinical, lifestyle and anthropometric data were collected in this study. The frequency of malnutrition was obtained through the application of the GLIM, which determined both the diagnosis and the classification of malnutrition. According to the GLIM criteria, the frequency of malnutrition was 26.2% in individuals who were candidates for surgery, among which - of the patients who were diagnosed with malnutrition - 60.7% were classified as having mild/moderate deficit and 39.3 % with severe deficit. In the sample, patients who were malnourished, when compared to those without malnutrition, had a longer hospital stay (≥ 7 days) (p<0.001). Significantly lower means of BMI, AC, AMC and AMBc were found in patients identified as having malnutrition according to the GLIM (p<0.05). It was seen that malnutrition had a high prevalence, according to the GLIM criteria. It is worth mentioning the expressive percentage of the sample diagnosed with excess weight, according to the body mass index, therefore, it is important to use a standardized diagnostic tool, such as the GLIM, which reliably assesses the diagnosis of malnutrition, regardless of the total body mass.