Nutritional assessment in patients with cirrhosis.

CONTEXT Malnutrition in cirrhotic patients with end-stage disease is common, and the degree of nutritional debilitation can play an important role in the pathogenesis of complications and cause a negative impact on prognosis. However, it involves difficulties and controversies regarding the identification of the best nutritional assessment method. OBJECTIVE To identify a method that provides a safe and effective nutritional diagnosis. METHODS Cross-sectional study with 129 cirrhotic patients. Anthropometric measurements, subjective global assessment, hand grip strength and bioelectrical impedance. RESULTS Through phase angle of bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) method, significant associations with Child-Pugh (P = 0.008), age group and gender were observed. The ROC (receiver operator characteristic) curve was generated to determine the best cutoff point of the phase angle of cirrhotic patients, serving as one of the reference parameters for the nutritional assessment with bioimpedance in this study, considering the classification through Child-Pugh score as the reference standard for the clinical conditions of patients with cirrhosis. CONCLUSIONS The assessment through bioelectrical impedance presented a statistically significant correlation with Child-Pugh score. The identification of phase angle of 5.44º is the new parameter suggested for the classification of the nutritional conditions of cirrhotic patients.