ESPEN 2012 - Late breaking abstract submission

Topic: Late Breaking Abstract

Abs n°:ESPEN12-1938

Abs Title: IS LIMB ANTHROPOMETRY RELATED WITH PRESENCE OF PRESSURE ULCERS?

F. Bortoli ¹M. J. Caetano ^2,*R. O. da Rocha ³J. F. da Silva ⁴G. D. Malvão ⁵J. A. Pinto Junior ⁵J. C. M. S. Peixoto ³

¹Assistência Nutricional, ²Diretoria Executiva, ³Diretoria de Ensino e Pesquisa, ⁴Ensino e Pesquisa, TNC-GAN, ⁵Estatística , UFF, Niterói, Brazil

Rationale: Homecare patients are at risk of developing pressure ulcers (PU) by bed restriction and undernutrition so we explore if there is any relation between the presence of PU and both body and limb anthropometric measures.

Methods: Data were collected from homecare patients at Rio de Janeiro city during their first nutritional assessment in 2011 which were name, age, gender, presence of PU and anthropometric measures as follow:  height, knee height, weight for body mass index (BMI); triceps skin fold, (TSF) mid-arm and mid-arm muscle circunference (MAC and MAMC) for upper limb and calf circumference (CC) for lower limb. Anthropometric limb variables were categorized in hipothrofic, euthrofic and hiperthrofic as Blackburn. We used statistical software R version 2.15 and Chi-square Pearson test and Fisher test to analyses the association between BMI and limb measures (TSF, MAC, MAMC, LC) and all of them against presence of UP. Statistical significance: p < 0,05.

Results: 191 homecare patients were selected with a median age of 79 years old (17 to 98): 62% female and 37% male. The prevalence of UP was 21,5%. All limb anthropometric measures were significantly associated with BMI (p< 0,001). Undernutrition by BMI and hipothrofic CC were significantly associated with presence of UP (p < 0,05).

Conclusion: Homecare patients have association between all limb lean and fat mass anthropometric measures categories of nutritional status and BMI. Undernutrition  patients classified by BMI have more prevalence of PU. Only lower limb anthropometric variable CC has associated with presence of PU.

Reference(s): BLACKBURN, G.L.; THORNTON, P.A. Nutritional as sessment of the hospitalized patients. Méd Clin North Am, v. 63, p. 1103-1115, 1979;

Disclosure of Interest: None Declared

Keywords: homecare, pressure ulcer, undernutrition