ASSESSING MALNUTRITION IN LIVER DISEASE PATIENTS BEING EVALUATED FOR TRANSPLANT USING THE NUTRITION FOCUSED PHYSICAL EXAM

• Main Author: Hilgendorf, Madison
• Format: Others
• Published: UKnowledge 2018
• Subjects: Cirrhosis; Malnutrition; Nutrition Focused Physical Exam; Transplant; PG-SGA; Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition; Digestive System Diseases; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases
• Online Access: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/foodsci_etds/61; https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1065&context=foodsci_etds

Patients with liver disease have an increased risk for malnutrition because of side effects of the disease. The Nutrition Focused Physical Exam (NFPE) was developed for nutrition professionals to aid physicians in a nutrition-based diagnosis of malnutrition. The purpose of this study was to examine the NFPE for its validity in liver disease patients being evaluated for transplant. In addition, the NFPE was used to assess incidence and severity of malnutrition in end stage liver disease patients and compare these results to already developed malnutrition tools such as the Patient Generated-Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA), Triceps Skinfolds (TSF), Mid-Arm Circumference (MAC), Lumbar Index, and Total Psoas Muscle Area (TPA). The NFPE was found to be highly correlated with PG-SGA results. There was a weak correlation between the NFPE and the TSF, MAC, and Lumbar Index/TPA, except when comparing the bottom 25% quartile of the Lumbar Index to severe malnutrition using the NFPE. This resulted in a moderate correlation. The odds-ratio for hospital admission based on malnutrition and severe malnutrition were both extremely high (14.571, 18.857 respectively). These preliminary results reinforce the significance of the NFPE and the need for additional studies using this tool.