OBJECTIVE: To assess the nutritional status of children submitted to ostomy for intestinal discharge. METHODS: A descriptive case series was carried out including 30 children aged up to ten years old submitted to colostomy or ileostomy at the pediatric surgery unit of Institute of Medicine Professor Fernando Figueira, Recife, Pernambuco. Socioeconomic, clinical, anthropometric, and laboratorial (hemoglobin and hematocrit) data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Nutritional status was determined based on anthropometric indicators (height/age, weight/age, and body mass index/age), which were stratified by gender, with World Health Organization standards as reference. Arm circumference and triceps skinfold were measured for the evaluation of body composition. Chest and head perimeters were measured on children aged up to five years-old. The Student's t-test was applied to compare two independent groups, considering p<0.05 as significant. RESULTS: All anthropometric indicators revealed nutritional deficit, especially in the height/age index, which revealed a frequency of 24.1% of short statue. Patients submitted to ileostomy presented lower mean Z score of anthropometric indicators, hemoglobin, hematocrit and ostomy time in comparison to those submitted to colostomy, with significant differences only for the Z score of body mass index/age (p=0.016), hemoglobin (p=0.025), and hematocrit (p=0.023). CONCLUSIONS: There is a substantial frequency of nutritional deficit in the analyzed sample, especially based on the height/age index. Although ileostomized patients had less time of ostomy, they had higher nutritional deficit compared to the colostomized ones, likely due to greater risk of postoperative complications, with consequent nutritional impairment.
ostomy; nutritional status; child
