Assessment Of Malnutrition In Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy At The National Oncology Centre Of The Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana
Date
2023
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
African Health Sciences
Abstract
Background: Globally, cancer is on the rise, despite several interventions. The link between nutrition and cancer has long been
established, with the consequences of poor nutrition on the cancer pathway being dire. Early nutrition intervention is recommended
for all cancer patients.
Objective: To assess malnutrition among patients undergoing chemotherapy at the National Radiotherapy Oncology and Nuclear Medicine Centre of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) in Accra, Ghana.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 123 patients with different types and stages of cancer who were undergoing chemotherapy. Data was collected from December 2018 to January 2019. The PG-SGA tool was used to assess weight
loss at one and six months; food intake and nutrition impact symptoms. A correlation test was used to test the association between the PGSGA score and nutritional triaging. A T-test was used to determine the association between chemotherapy cycles and
nutrition. A p-value <0.05 was considered to be significant.
Results: The results revealed that 5.7% (n= 7) of the patients were well nourished, and 31.7% (n= 39) were suspected of being
malnourished, and 62.6% (n = 77) were severely malnourished. About half of the participants (48%) had experienced weight loss
ranging between 1 and 20 kg, with weight loss ≤5kg being most prevalent at both one and six months prior to the study. More
than half (56.9%, n = 70) of the participants were consuming less than their usual intake. The majority of the participants had 4-6
nutritional symptoms (39.0%), with symptoms being mostly mild (39.1%). Poor nutritional status was positively correlated with
nutritional symptoms (r = 0.747, p<0.001).
Conclusion: The PGSGA tool identified that more than half of the patients were severely malnourished, hence the need for
early nutrition intervention in cancer patients.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
Malnutrition, Nutrition assessment, Nutritional status