Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association (Oct 2020)

Screening for malnutrition in oral cavity cancer patients prior to treatment: a cross-sectional study

  • Haissan Iftikhar ,
  • Anwar Suhail ,
  • Amna Urooba ,
  • Karim Rizwan Nathani ,
  • Zeeshan Shaikh,
  • Muhammad Wasif

DOI
https://doi.org/10.47391/JPMA.243

Abstract

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Abstract This study was conducted to assess the frequency of pre-operative malnourishment in patients being treated for oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma. A retrospective chart review was carried out at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, on 62 patients. Patients were screened pre-operatively through a standard nutritional assessment tool at the time of admission to assess for malnutrition. Mean age of presentation was 48.34 ± 13.11 years, mean height was 165 ± 8.62cm, weight 66.09 ± 14.98 kg and BMI of 24.09 ± 4.84. Males were 82.3% and 17.7% were females. At the time of admission, a significant number or patients, 12 (19.4%) were prone to malnourishment, while 3 (4.8%) patients were malnourished: Assessment was done by using a standardised nutritional assessment tool. Keywords: Malnutrition, Squamous cell Carcinoma, Radiotherapy Continuous...