Nutritional status and gastrointestinal disorders in hospitalized patients with HIV/AIDS at the Hospital Universitário João de Barros Barreto in Belém, Pará State, Brazil

Abstract

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to evaluate the nutritional status and gastrointestinal disorders of hospitalized patients with HIV/AIDS at the Hospital Universitário João de Barros Barreto (HUJBB) in Belém, Pará State, Brazil, attended from May to August 2014. The sample consisted of patients hospitalized in the Clinic for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases of HUJBB, both sexes, aged between 20 and 59 years old and anthropometric data were collected, such as body mass index (BMI), arm circumference (AC) and triceps skinfold (TSF); and gastrointestinal disorders (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal distension and oral candidiasis). The sample consisted of 46 patients, mostly male and living in Belém. Malnutrition was found by checking BMI (54.3%), AC (78.3%) and TSF (91.3%). According to the gastrointestinal disorders reported by the patients with HIV/AIDS, it was observed that, in the study, most of them had nausea (54%), abdominal distention (52%) and vomiting (50%). A minority of patients, although significant ones, also reported the presence of diarrhea (46%) and oral candidiasis (46%). It is very common the presence of gastrointestinal symptoms in HIV-infected patients, mainly due to opportunistic diseases, which are the reasons for frequent hospitalization of these patients. The immediate nutritional assessment in this group of hospitalized patients is essential to diagnose possible risks of malnutrition and the presence of gastrointestinal symptoms that interfere in their nutritional status directly and early that are one of the reasons for hospitalizations.