Anthropometric and dietetic evaluation of people with ileostomies

Background – The maintenance of nutrition for the person with ileostomy is a major challenge despite to the proper management of stoma eliminations. Objective – This study aimed to evaluate the nutritional status of people with ileostomy. Method – This is a cross-sectional study carried out on a population of 17 people with ileostomy enrolled in the Service of Attention to the Health of the Person with Stoma of level II, referring to a health region in Minas Gerais. The anthropometric evaluation consisted of the collection of weight, height, and calculation of body mass index. A 24-hour food recall and the nutritional assessment method Global Subjective Assessment were also evaluated. The data were analyzed by the Dietbox software, where the ingested nutrients were estimated, and by the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 22.0. Results – There was a predominance of a population composed of people over 50 years old, female, married and single, with family income between two and three minimum wages, incomplete elementary school and that did not exercise paid activity. The cancer was given as the main diagnosis that originated the stoma and had a surgery time of less than two years. Regarding nutritional status, most of the interviewees presented adequate body mass index, but more than half reported significant weight loss after the ileostomy. The predominant nutritional diagnosis provided by the General Subjective Assessment was “suspected malnutrition/moderate malnutrition”. On the other hand, the contribution of energy, carbohydrates, lipids, sodium, potassium, magnesium and vitamin B12 was considered insufficient in almost all the participants. Conclusion – Therefore, it is suggested the periodic evaluation of the nutritional status of this population. Thus, it is expected that preventive, therapeutic and maintenance dietary diagnosis and planning may contribute to the nutritional status of the person with the ileostomy. HEADINGS – Nutritional status. Ostomy. Health services. Declared conflict of interest of all authors: none Disclosure of funding: no funding received Research performed at: Serviço de Atenção à Saúde da Pessoa Ostomizada de nível II (SASPO II). Secretaria Municipal de Saúde de Divinópolis, MG, Brasil. 1 Universidade Federal de São João Del-Rei, Campus Centro-Oeste Dona Lindu, Divinópolis, MG, Brasil. 2 Secretaria Municipal de Saúde de Divinópolis, MG, Brasil. Corresponding author: Juliano Teixeira Moraes. E-mail: julianotmoraes@ufsj.edu. br liquidity effects of the products excreted. Intensive replenishments of liquid, proteins, salts and others should be performed to provide enough nutrients(5,6). In addition to reduced absorption capacity due to intestinal resection, people with ileostomy begin to adopt eating habits to control intestinal functions for aesthetic reasons, such as avoiding odor, flatulence, and bulky content. These changes in diet may have negative repercussions, contributing to a worsening of the nutritional status of these subjects, especially when the diet is not adjusted for their needs(5). Given that adequate management of stoma eliminations and maintenance of nutrition for the person with ileostomy are two major challenges, and that these individuals are more predisposed to develop malnutrition(4), follow-up is necessary for the evaluation of eating habits and anthropometric data. Thus, it is possible to provide subsidies for the development and implantation of nutritional plans, estimating if food intake is sufficient and identifying inappropriate habits, such as excessive intake of foods with poor nutritional content(7). The nutritional status of an individual is a result of the relationship between food consumption and nutritional needs, and its evaluation allows the identification of people at risk, contributing to the promotion or recovery of health. It is necessary to use an AG-2018-117 dx.doi. org/10.1590/S0004-2803.201900000-07 Moraes JT, Melo AFF, Araújo C, Faria RGS, Ferreira NR, Belo VS. Anthropometric and dietetic evaluation of people with ileostomies Arq Gastroenterol • 2019. v. 56 no 1 jan/mar • 35 association of several indicators of nutritional status to increase diagnostic accuracy, such as analysis of clinical and dietary history and anthropometric data. Thus, it is possible to establish the nutritional diagnosis, being the basis for dietary planning and guidance(7). Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the nutritional status of individuals with ileostomy enrolled in a referral service for health care of the person with stoma.