Clinical Application And Evaluation Of The STRONGkids Nutritional Risk Screening In Children Hospitalized In The Department Of General Surgery

Objective To evaluate and analyze the nutrition risk of children patients who hospitalized in the department of general surgery, to investigate nutritional risk and its relationship with clinical outcome in children hospitalized in the surgical department, and to provide a scientific basis for clinical nutrition management.Methods A total of258children patients who hospitalized in the department of general surgery were investigated between from1st Nov2014to31st Dec2014, through sequential sampling. Patients were screened using Screening Tool for Risk on Nutritional status and Growth (STRONGkids) at admission. Data of the clinical examination, application of nutritional support, complications, length of hospital stay, post operative length of hospital stay and total hospital expenses were collected.Results Of the258children patients, the prevalence of high nutritional risk was6.6%, the prevalence of moderate nutritional risk was48.8%, and the prevalence of low nutritional risk was44.6%. Hirschsprung’s disease, congenital hypertrophic pyloric stenosis, and short bowel syndrome were the three most common types of high nutritional risk. Six (35.3%) of the seventeen children with high nutritional risk received parenteral nutrition. The incidence of high nutritional risk was significantly higher in infants than in other age groups (P<0.01). Children with high nutritional risk had significantly increased incidence of complications, length of hospital stay, post operative length of hospital stay and total hospital expenses compared with those with moderate or low nutritional risk (P<0.01).Conclusions The STRONGkids is objective to reflect the nutrition risk of the hospitalized general surgical children. Moderate or high nutritional risk is seen in children hospitalized in the surgical department, the score of nutritional risk is correlated with clinical outcome, the high nutritional risk is mostly occured in infancy. Nutritional risk score is correlated with clinical outcome, provides evidence for clinical proper nutrition support. Nutritional risk screening can be widely applied among hospitalized children.