Nutritional outcomes in pediatric liver transplantation: a longitudinal analysis of anthropometric measures

To evaluate the nutritional outcomes in patients aged zero to 18 undergoing liver transplantation, comparing preoperative and postoperative periods, and to determine the average time required for malnourished patients to reach eutrophy.

This retrospective longitudinal study utilized a non-probabilistic convenience sample of 66 children and adolescents who underwent liver transplantation at a hospital in a Brazilian capital. Anthropometric data (weight, height, and body mass index (BMI)-for-age) were extracted from medical records and expressed as Z-scores according to the World Health Organization (WHO) growth charts for sex and age. Statistical analyses were performed using the paired Student's t-test and the Kaplan-Meier survival curve.

Before the transplant, 43.94% of the patients were malnourished. Following the procedure, significant increases were observed in mean weight (from 12.47 kg to 16.63 kg; p<0.0001), height (from 80.09 cm to 91.51 cm; p<0.0001), and BMI (from 16.60 kg/m2 to 18.29 kg/m2; p<0.0001). The Z-scores for weight-for-age (-1.16 to 0.23; p<0.0001), height-for-age (-1.55 to -1.28; p=0.024), and BMI-for-age (-0.29 to 1.61; p<0.0001) also improved. The average time to reach eutrophy was 228 days.

Liver transplantation significantly improved the nutritional outcomes of children and adolescents, as evidenced by improvements in anthropometric parameters. The mean time to reach eutrophy was approximately 7.5 months.