Introduction:

Children in critical condition are at high risk of malnutrition, both because of their pre-existing conditions and because of the nutritional practices applied during hospitalization, which can increase the risk of morbidity and mortality.

Objective:

Assess nutritional support practices and factors involved in the delivery of energy and protein in mechanically ventilated children.

Methods:

Prospective observational study with analytical aspects, where a cohort of 40 mechanically ventilated patients (1-17 years) admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit of the National Institute of Children's Health was evaluated. Demographic and clinical data were recorded; daily caloric and protein intake and adequacy, interruptions in nutrition, time of stay, among others were counted.

Results:

At the time of admission, 70% presented malnutrition, 77.5; 12.5; and 7.5% received enteral, parenteral and both kinds of nutrition, respectively. The onset of nutritional support on average was 3.5 days. 24% of the caloric requirements and 31% of the calculated proteins were reached. The main causes of interruption of enteral feeding in 39.4% of the time were fasting by intubation or extubation, 24.2% by surgery and 15% by elevated gastric residue.

Conclusions:

There is a high rate of malnutrition and poor adequacy of the prescribed caloric and protein requirement. The implementation of a nutrition protocol can facilitate the nutritional management of the pediatric patient in critical condition.

        · resumen en Español     · texto en Español     · Español ( pdf )