Nutrition en cancérologie : aspects pédiatriquesNutrition and cancer in children

Cancer is associated with a high risk of malnutrition in children. This risk is different from one tumor to another, at the time of diagnosis and at any time of the disease course. Numerous tumor-related and treatment-related factors are involved. High dose-chemotherapy, with its specific side effects is particularly deleterious. Growth curves are of major interest for the long-term follow up of the nutritional status in children. The systematic use of nutritional risk scores is recommended, in order to improve prevention and early treatment of malnutrition. Nutritional supplies should meet the high protein and energy needs associated with cancer and its treatments. Oral and tube-feeding should be used preferably, according to digestive function. Peripheral parenteral nutrition may serve only as a complementary, short-term nutritional support. Central lines are required for all total and/or long term parenteral nutrition periods. Whatever the nutritional support, it can help to fulfil chemotherapy programmes, with benefit on remission duration and survival.     

Évaluation de l'état nutritionnel et des besoins de l'enfant et de l'adolescent

Ten to fifteen percent of hospitalized children suffer from malnutrition. Children suffering from chronic diseases are at particularly high risk for malnutrition. A systematic screening for malnutrition and nutritional risk can improve nutritional care in this population. Simple measures (weight and height at admission) can be used to calculate nutritional indices (weight for height ratio or body mass index). Nutritional risk depends on: 1) the severety of the principal diagnosis, 2) the ability to feed oneself, and 3) the pain intensity. The oral or enteral route is preferred when the gut is functional. In all cases nutritional status must be followed throughout hospitalisation. Furthermore, it is preferable to begin nutritional care before malnutrition sets in. Nutritional care can improve the outcome and well-being of hospitalized children.     

Dénutrition périnatale : prise en charge nutritionnelle spécifique du nouveau-né

Malnutrition is quite rare in neonates. However perinatal malnutrition occurs in two situations. Fetal malnutrition leading to intra-uterine growth retardation with a birth weight below the lower limit for gestational age. On the other hand a postnatal relative malnutrition ("extra-uterine" growth retardation) which occurs mainly in preterm neonates. Both these situations need specific nutritional care after birth but also during the first years of life as there is probably a relationship between post-natal nutrition and health in adults (Barker hypothesis).     

Place de l'impédancemétrie dans le dépistage de la dénutrition à l'hôpitalBio-impedance analysis: Screening of denutrition in hospitalized patients

The prevalence of malnutrition is high in patients and tends to worsen during the hospital stay. In the absence of one reliable method to evaluate patients, the assessment of nutritional status is based on a global approach. Body composition measurement by bio-impedance analysis (BIA) is one of these approaches. Body composition measurements can detect malnutrition or abnormal hydration. Fat free mass, fat mass, and total body water are the main body compartments that are evaluated. Determination of abnormal body composition can then guide nutritional support. The reliability of BIA depends on the equation used to predict body composition and the parameters included in the formula (weight, height, sex, age, race, etc.). These parameters allow to minimize measurement errors. Thus, formula developed for specific populations allow to evaluate the nutritional status with reasonable error rates. BIA has been found to be inaccurate with abnormal distribution of body compartments (ascites, dialysis, lypodystrophy, etc.) or extreme weights (cachexia, obesity). Multi-frequency or segmental BIA was developed to overcome hydration abnormalities and variations in body geometry. However, these techniques require further validation. The BIA seems to have some limitations. This review aims to assess the reliability of BIA to detect protein-calorie malnutrition at hospital admission or during nutritional follow-up of patients.     

Stratégies de prise en charge nutritionnelle spécifiques : l'enfant en cancérologie

In children with cancer, malnutrition may antedate the diagnosis or be a result of aggressive chemotherapeutic regimens. The prevalence of malnutrition at diagnosis is related to the type of tumour and the extent of the disease, ranging from < 10% in patients with standard-risk acute lymphoblastic leukaemia to 50% in children with advanced neuroblastoma. The pathogenis of the energy imbalance that underlies the development of malnutrition is complex, including increased breakdown of fat and protein as well as energy-consumptive changes in carbohydrate metabolism (Cori cycle). Despite several confounding factors (different definitions of nutritional status and the wide variety of measures used for its assessment), studies have shown decreased tolerance of chemotherapy associated with altered metabolism of antineoplastic drugs, increased infection rates, altered quality of life and possibly poor clinical outcome in malnourished patients. In this article, we review guidelines for the nutritional management of a child with cancer and we purpose an algorithm for nutritional support.     

Nutrition au cours des radiothérapies et chimiothérapiesNutritional support during cancer chemotherapy and radiotherapy

Nutritional support for cancer patients treated with radiotherapy and chemotherapy are strongly requested with regard to the frequent malnutrition at time of diagnosis. Furthermore, the malnutrition often progresses with adverse effects of therapy and disease progression. Nutritional screening and assessment are essential. Dietetic care is mandatory for patients with malnutrition or at risk of malnutrition when they are still able to eat. But this oral nutritional support is frequently unable to maintain sufficient nutritional intakes with regard to tumour effect or treatment toxicity. Enteral or parenteral nutrition must be provided to patients unable to absorb adequate quantity of nutrients for a prolonged period. The primary goal is to avoid, especially for malnourished patients, further nutritional degradation which can lead to treatment interruptions, complications or increased risk of death. Routine administration of artificial nutrition has been tested during radiotherapy and chemotherapy but results are conflicting and data are missing for severely malnourished patients. No benefits in terms of treatment toxicity, tumour response, risk of complications and finally mortality have been demonstrated for routine use of artificial nutrition. Most decisions for indication of nutritional support, route of administration and quality of artificial nutrition in this field can't rely today on evidence-based medicine. However, artificial nutrition can provide nutrients and hydration necessary to maintain comfort and to improve survival for patients unable to eat sufficient nutrition for a prolonged period.     

Conséquences de la dénutrition chez l'enfant et l'adolescent. Mortalité, morbidité, conséquences médicoéconomiques

In the developed countries, the sick children are at risk of protein-energy malnutrition (PEM). Marasmus is the most common form of severe PEM in such children. Its major characteristics are low muscle and fat masses with the presence of marked facial, axillary and inguinal skinfolds. Furthermore the marastic children are irritable and depressed. When the PEM is moderate, which is more frequent, the affected children present a failure to thrive. Severe and moderate PEM have multiple functional consequences on different systems and organs with an impact on mortality, morbidity and costs. In this paper, the functional consequences on the immune system, digestive tract, liver, lung, heart, kidney, skin, bone and brain are passed in review. To end, some comments are done about the particularities of PEM in mental anorexia and obesity.     

Nutrition périopératoire chez la personne âgée. Cas particulier de la fracture de l’extrémité supérieure du col du fémur

Emergency surgery is associated with an increase in the risk of malnutrition in the elderly. Thirty to fifty percent of elderly persons admitted to in surgery are malnourished. In patients for which nutritional status is threatened by both the aging process and comorbidities, the surgical intervention represents an additional stress that will induce or worsen malnutrition. Nutritional care must no be delayed. First choice is the oral route, including protein and energy rich nutritional supplements, and must be a part of multidimensional perioperative care It is recommended to reach 30 to 40 kcal tot/kg/day and 1.2 to 1.5 g of proteins/kg/day. It is recommended to prescribe, during the stay in rehabilitation wards after surgery, oral nutritional supplements. This oral supplementation has been shown to be efficacious in malnourished elderly patients: there is weight gain, a lower risk for complications and a lower mortality rate. However, compliance may be reduced in elderly patients with low appetite, especially in case of dementia, or early medical complications. In order to prevent other falls and fractures, it is recommended to look for vitamin D deficiency and to prescribe vitamin D 800–1200 UI/day.     

Évaluation de l’état nutritionnel péri-opératoire

In surgical patients, malnutrition is associated with an increase in morbidity, mortality, length of stay and health care costs, and has an impact on quality of life. Before surgery, the risk of malnutrition is depending on patient-related factors (age, associated diseases, on-going symptoms, duration of pre-operative hospital stay), surgical procedure, and medical treatment (radiotherapy, chemotherapy, corticoid treatment). The early screening and management of malnutrition are mandatory during the peri-operative period, with the aim to improve post-operative prognosis and clinical outcome. The nutritional assessment is based on the research of weight loss, the calculation of body mass index and the research of an hypoalbuminemia, all of them having a negative impact on postoperative prognosis. The Nutritional Risk Index (NRI) is also of strong prognostic value. We propose a stratification of the nutritional risk indicating several levels of surgical risk. The organization, the planning and the traceability in the medical record of the nutritional assessment should allow optimizing the management and the clinical outcome of surgical patients. The pre-operative consultation of anaesthesia could be the privileged time to perform the screening of malnutrition and to plan its management, if they were not previously performed by the medico-surgical team.     

État nutritionnel des patients avec maladies du foie : épidémiologie et pronostic

Malnutrition is generally defined as protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) in patients with chronic liver disease, because the depletion of muscle mass and body fat is associated with protein depletion. Deficiencies of vitamins and minerals often coexist. PEM represents a common complication of advanced liver disease, both of alcoholic and nonalcoholic etiology. It is related to the severity of the liver disease more than to its etiology.Malnutrition negatively affects liver function, complications of the liver disease, and survival. Malnourished patients have an increased surgical risk and decreased survival after liver transplantation. The assessment of nutritional status in patients with chronic liver disease may be helpful in providing better prognostic information and more precise targeting of potential nutrition intervention.     

Stratégies de dépistage de la dénutrition chez l''enfant hospitalisé

Metabolic stress modifies homeostasis, therefore nutrient's metabolism and nutritional needs. Stress is a risk factor of malnutrition, which increases morbidity and short-term mortality, and, in the child, can threaten long-term growth. Nutritional assessment is difficult in critically ill children. Nutritional support must be undertaken early as possible, especially in malnourished children and with severe agression. Enteral nutrition must be privileged. Parenteral nutrition is indicated when enteral nutrition is impossible, badly supported or insufficient to satisfy needs. Monitoring must be rigorous because aggression increases the risk of metabolic complications.     

Stratégies de prise en charge nutritionnelle spécifiques : l'enfant et l'adulte jeune atteints d'un handicap

Handicapped children are at high risk for malnutrition. In this situation nutritional assessment becomes difficult to perform due to musculo-skeletal deformities, patient's collaboration. In any case nutritional indices require simple measures: weight and height. Nutritional care must be presented early to parents in order to start as soon as possible when oral intake does not meet nutritional needs. For the handicapped child, surgery is often a major stress that requires nutritional care before, during and after. Obesity often aggravates the burden of the handicap and does not provide protection against malnutrition. Like in non-handicapped persons nutritional care can improve the outcome and well being of handicapped children.     

Troubles nutritionnels lors de la sclérose latérale amyotrophique (SLA)

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rare neuromuscular disease, with a severe prognostic. Its consequences are not only neurological, but also nutritional, linked with a decrease of feeding, caused by swallowing and salivation disorders, a frequent anorexia or constipation, troubles due to a possible respiratory insufficiency, and sometimes important difficulties for going shopping, cooking and more simply putting the food into the mouth. Although fat-free mass is usually decreased during ALS, a paradoxical hypermetabolism is present in 50 to 70% cases, favouring nutritional alterations. The tools used for assessment, sometimes specific to the disability, are anthropometric criteria, body impedance analysis (BIA), dietetic surveys, dual X-ray absorptiometry and indirect calorimetry. Alimentary intakes, weight, fat-free mass and body mass index are progressively reduced, leading to malnutrition. BIA phase angle is largely decreased, reflecting severe cellular alterations. Disorders of lipid status are possible but inconsistent across studies and perhaps linked with cultural feeding habits. The loss of weight at diagnosis and malnutrition during evolution are independent prognostic factors for survival, justifying early nutritional assessment and care. During evolution of ALS, a higher level of fat mass seems to be a positive factor for survival. French, European and American recommendations give precisions on follow-up, modalities of fight against the causes of malnutrition, nutritional care, mainly including the use of oral energy and protein-enriched nutritional supplements and enteral nutrition.     

Le cirrhotique face à la chirurgie : rôle de la dénutrition dans les complications infectieuses

Postoperative complications, particularly infectious complications, are more frequent in cirrhotic than in non-cirrhotic patients after abdominal surgery. This is probably the result of a decrease in antiinfectious mechanisms in cirrhotic patients, including humoral and cellular immunodeficiency and an increase in bacterial translocation. The immunodeficient status of cirrhotic patients is partly related to malnutrition. Several clinical studies have recently suggested that enteral and parenteral nutrition improve nitrogen balance and nutritional parameters in patients with chronic liver disease. Chronic or acute encephalopathy has also been improved as well as survival. However the beneficial effect of artificial nutrition on postoperative septic complications in cirrhotic patients has so far never been confirmed in a well conducted randomized study. Giving protein and energy support to patients with cirrhosis undergoing abdominal surgery, together with specific measures such as prevention of intraoperative bleeding, treatment of sodium and water retention, and antibiotic prophylaxis against intestinal gram-negative bacteria needs to be further investigated.     

Nutrition périopératoire : protocoles de soins

Based on texts written by experts, the objective of this paper is to propose a practical approach to nutrition for clinicians, according to the nutritional status of patients and the evaluation of surgical risk. Any patient with a nutritional grade greater than or equal to 2 should benefit from nutritional support. Indeed, current data confirm that preoperative and early nutritional support in surgery at risk can reduce significantly postoperative morbidity for patients with non-malnourished (immunonutrition in cancer surgery GI), and the morbidity and mortality in malnourished patients (enteral nutrition when possible). A preoperative oral intake is recommended 2 to 3 hours before elective surgery for clear fluids and 6 hours for a light meal. Moreover, a preoperative oral intake of carbohydrates (maltodextrin 12.5%) is recommended (except in diabetic patients). Postoperatively, early oral feeding (within 24 hours) is recommended in the absence of cons to surgery. Glutamine is recommended in case of postoperative complications.     

La nutrition artificielle en periopératoire chez le patient diabétique

The diabetic patients are at high risk of malnutrition. One recommends seeking specific deficiencies (zinc, selenium, vitamins C and E) for malnourished diabetic patients. For the perioperative cares, one recommends to cover their protein needs and their caloric needs and to accordingly optimize the antidiabetic treatment. One should probably use oral supplements or enteral nutrition products with a low glycemic index. The presence of diabetic gastroparesis can make it difficult or dissuade enteral nutrition. The incidence of gastroparesis justifies gastric residue control, the use of prokinetic, and nutrition in postpyloric site. An equivalent parenteral carbohydrate intake has a hyperglycaemic effect more important than with the oral or enteral way. It is recommended to use an infusion pump in diabetic patients to administer parenteral nutrition. Daily use of lipid emulsions is recommended in this context.     

Conséquences digestives de l’anorexie mentale

Gastrointestinal disorders are almost a constant finding in patients with anorexia nervosa and induce a major functional burden as well as obstacles to refeeding. All the parts of the gastrointestinal tract may be involved: benching, delayed gastric emptying, abdominal distension and bloating, delayed transit or terminal constipation. Anorectic patients often refer for gastrointestinal disorders which may delay the diagnosis of the eating disorder because of repeated gastroenterological investigations and also because eating disorders are poorly acknowledged by gastroenterologists. The pathophysiology of gastrointestinal disorders during anorexia nervosa is still poorly understood; it may involve the consequences of malnutrition, altered neuropeptidergic regulation associated with the eating disorder or immunological alterations. Gastrointestinal symptoms must be systematically looked for in anorectic patients and actively treated to ease the implication of the patient to the oral refeeding program or to enteral nutrition. Conversely, eating disorders should be suspected in case of severe dyspepsia or irritable bowel syndrome with weight loss.