Conference Papers
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/6561
This collection contains abstracts of conference papers, presented at local and international conferences by the staff of the Faculty of Medicine
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Item Feeding in children with cerebral palsy: preliminary results from an ongoing study at the Rheumatology and Rehabilitation Hospital, Ragama(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2017) Dilina, A.K.N.; Ediriweera, D.S.INTRODUCTION & OBJECTIVES: Malnutrition is a common problem in children with cerebral palsy (CP) and can be associated with growth failure. This study was done to assess feeding patterns and caregivers’ perception on feeding children with CP. METHODS: A total of 42 children with CP at the Rheumatology and Rehabilitation Hospital, Ragama (RRH) were studied from March 2016 to March 2017. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. RESULTS: Median (IQR) age of children was 65 (37-117) months and 69% were males. 64.3% had spastic quadriplegia. 90% of children’s main caregiver was the mother. 19% were able to self feed, 12% could self feed but was slow and messy, 7% could self feed with assistance and 62% were entirely fed by the caregivers. 79% tolerated adult food, 17% were on coarsely mashed purees and 4% required well mashed purees. Median (IQR) daily feeding time was 110 (72-205) minutes in spastic quadriplegic children compared to 80 (60-110) minutes in other types of CP (p=0.17). 31% of caregivers expressed that feeding was stressful. 57% of caregivers believed that their child was underweight, 2% as just below normal weight and 10% as overweight. CONCLUSION: A total of 62% of children were entirely fed by the caregivers. Twenty one percent needed special food preparations. Median feeding time was relatively higher in spastic quadriplegics compared to other types of CP. Nearly one third of caregivers expressed that feeding was stressful. More than half of the caregivers believed that their children were underweight.Item Nutritional status of patients with spinal cord injury admitted to the Rheumatology and Rehabilitation Hospital, Ragama(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2017) Dilina, A.K.N.; Lakmali, A.K.S.; Ediriweera, D.S.INTRODUCTION & OBJECTIVES: Malnutrition is a common problem in hospitalized patients having chronic diseases with long periods of debilitation. There is limited data on the nutritional status of spinal cord injury (SCI) patients in Sri Lanka. METHODS: All the SCI patients admitted to the Rheumatology and Rehabilitation Hospital, Ragama (RRH) during September to November 2015 were studied. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used. Mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) was measured to assess the body mass index (BMI) category and nutritional screening was done with the Malnutrition Universal Screening tool (MUST). RESULTS: There were 138 patients, median (IQR) age was 39 (27 to 57) years and 124 (90%) were males. The median (IQR) MUAC was 25 (22-27) cm and 23% were in the BMI category less than 20kg/m2 and 7% were in the BMI category more than 30kg/m2. 84 (61%) were at risk of undernutrition (MUST score 1 or more). 27 (19.5%) were at high risk of undernutrition (MUST score 2 or more), where the high risk was seen in 37.5% of bedbound patients compared to 12.27% in others (p<0.01). 44 (32%) of SCI patients had pressure ulcers and 38.6% of them were at high risk of undernutrition (MUST score 2 or more) compared to 10.6% in non-ulcer patients (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: Among SCI patients, 7% were obese and 23% were undernourished according to MUAC. According to the MUST score, more than half of the SCI patients were at risk of undernutrition and 19.5% were at high risk of undernutrition, where this was specifically seen in bedbound patients and patients with pressure sores.