Nutritional status of patients with spinal cord injury admitted to the Rheumatology and Rehabilitation Hospital, Ragama

Abstract

INTRODUCTION & OBJECTIVES: Malnutrition is a common problem in hospitalized patients having chronic diseases with long periods of debilitation. There is limited data on the nutritional status of spinal cord injury (SCI) patients in Sri Lanka. METHODS: All the SCI patients admitted to the Rheumatology and Rehabilitation Hospital, Ragama (RRH) during September to November 2015 were studied. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used. Mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) was measured to assess the body mass index (BMI) category and nutritional screening was done with the Malnutrition Universal Screening tool (MUST). RESULTS: There were 138 patients, median (IQR) age was 39 (27 to 57) years and 124 (90%) were males. The median (IQR) MUAC was 25 (22-27) cm and 23% were in the BMI category less than 20kg/m2 and 7% were in the BMI category more than 30kg/m2. 84 (61%) were at risk of undernutrition (MUST score 1 or more). 27 (19.5%) were at high risk of undernutrition (MUST score 2 or more), where the high risk was seen in 37.5% of bedbound patients compared to 12.27% in others (p<0.01). 44 (32%) of SCI patients had pressure ulcers and 38.6% of them were at high risk of undernutrition (MUST score 2 or more) compared to 10.6% in non-ulcer patients (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: Among SCI patients, 7% were obese and 23% were undernourished according to MUAC. According to the MUST score, more than half of the SCI patients were at risk of undernutrition and 19.5% were at high risk of undernutrition, where this was specifically seen in bedbound patients and patients with pressure sores.