OBJECTIVETo investigate the nutritional risk in children with severe pneumonia using the Screening Tool for the Assessment of Malnutrition in Paediatrics (STAMP) and the association between nutritional risk and adverse clinical outcomes.

METHODSAccording to the STAMP score, 216 children with severe pneumonia were classified into high nutritional risk group (HR group; n=98), moderate nutritional risk group (MR group; n=65), and low nutritional risk group (LR group; n=53). Fasting blood samples were collected to measure the levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), adiponectin, leptin, non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA), albumin, transferrin, prealbumin, and retinol binding protein (RBP). The adverse clinical outcomes were recorded.

RESULTSCompared with the MR and LR groups, the HR group had significantly lower serum levels of IGF-1, leptin, adiponectin, prealbumin, and RBP, as well as a significantly higher serum level of NEFA (P<0.05). Compared with the MR and LR groups, the HR group had a significantly higher proportion of children admitted to the intensive care unit and a significantly longer duration of mechanical ventilation (P<0.05). The HR group had a significantly longer mean hospital stay and a significantly higher incidence rate of complications compared with the LR and MR groups (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSNutritional risk screening has an important value in evaluating the clinical outcome of children with severe pneumonia, and children at a higher nutritional risk tend to have more adverse clinical outcomes.