The financial burden of malnutrition in hospitalized pediatric patients under five years of age

Clinical Nutrition ESPEN
Kulnipa Kittisakmontri, Onwaree Sukhosa

Abstract

Under-five children are a medically fragile group which is compromised by hospitalization. Malnutrition in those patients not only increases complications and mortality but also affects hospital resource utilization. Therefore, this study was conducted to clarify the impact of malnutrition on hospital expenditures. This prospective cohort study was performed at a tertiary hospital in Thailand. Under-five children who were admitted to general pediatric wards were included. Demographic data, the length of stay (LOS), and anthropometric measurements at admission were recorded. The classification of wasting and stunting were defined according to the World Health Organization (WHO) classification. Moreover, all hospital expenses were calculated directly based on the actual billing including the total hospital cost, cost of bed, enteral formula, medications, medical apparatus and procedures, nursing care, investigations and surgery. One-hundred and five patients with a mean age of 26.8 ± 1.8 months were included. The majority of them were males (61%) with the leading cause of infectious disease. According to the prevalence of malnutrition, the percentage of patients who had only stunting or wasting were 24.8% and 10.5%, respectively ...Continue Reading

Citations

Jan 26, 2021·European Journal of Pediatrics·Suchaorn SaengnipanthkulCharnchai Panthongviriyakul
Dec 31, 2021·Nutrition in Clinical Practice : Official Publication of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition·Dena L Goldberg, Patricia J Becker

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