The preoperative nutritional assessment in children with congenital heart disease

Objective: To study on the assessment of preoperative and postoperative nutrition in children with congenital heart disease, and provide reference for surgical program selection and nutrition support. Methods: The data of 62 cases of 5 to 6 years old children with congenital heart disease were collected from December 2008 to December 2009 in the department of cardiovascular surgery. The physical examination and laboratory test were done when these children had been admitted for 2 to 3 days, or received the surgery for 7 to 14 days. Results: the ratio of male to female is 1:0.9 in the 62 cases. The proportions of cases with normal nutrition, low weight, mild malnutrition and moderate malnutrition were 59.7%, 29.0%, 9.7% and 1.6% respectively. The height and weight of children with congenital heart disease were significantly lower than that of normal children with the same age. The preoperative weight, arm circumference, triceps skinfold thickness and lymphocyte counts in patients were lower than those of postoperative outcomes (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Compared with the children of normal development,the children with congenital heart disease had higher incidence of malnutrition. The nutritional intervention should be adopted to promote postoperative recovery based on the results of nutrition evaluation.