Improving nutritional status of children using artificial intelligence-based mobile application postsurgery:...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Surgery
• Nutritional Science
• Health Informatics

Background:

• Post-surgical malnutrition is prevalent in children, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
• Mobile health applications offer a promising avenue for enhancing nutritional status in pediatric patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a diet-related mobile application in improving the nutritional status of post-surgical children.
• To compare the outcomes of using a mobile health intervention versus standard dietary pamphlets.

Main Methods:

• A two-arm randomized controlled trial was conducted over six months at a tertiary care hospital.
• The intervention group received a diet-related mobile app, while the control group received dietary pamphlets.
• Sample size was calculated at 88 participants to achieve 80% power and a 5% significance level.

Main Results:

• After 8 weeks, the intervention group showed a mean weight of 17.1 kg (SD 5) compared to 16.5 kg (SD 7.2) in the usual care group.
• Average calorie intake was 1000.75 kcal (SD 210) for the intervention group and 972 kcal (SD 252) for the usual care group.
• Average protein intake was 39 g (SD 6.4) for the intervention group and 34.3 g (SD 12.5) for the usual care group.

Conclusions:

• The study suggests that mobile health technology can support self-nutrition monitoring for post-surgical pediatric patients.
• Both intervention and usual care groups demonstrated slight improvements in weight and nutritional intake.