Impacto do tratamento quimioterápico no estado nutricional de pacientes com câncer.

Abstract

Objective: To verify the impact of the effects of chemotherapy on the nutritional status of cancer patients thirty days after initiating treatment. METHOD: The patients’ weight and height were collected from their charts at the beginning of the treatment and the weight after 30 days of treatment. The body mass index was used to classify the nutritional status. After 30 days, weight loss was investigated and the percentage of weight loss was calculated. Through a questionnaire, the patients’ diets and the main symptoms presented were verified. Results: the sample consisted of 36 individuals, with a prevalence of 69.4% being elderly patients. There were no differences between the patients’ weight means, BMI and percentage of weight loss before and after starting the treatment. Weight loss occurred in 52.77% of the subjects. According to BMI, 27.7% of the total sample had low weight before and after treatment. Of these, 47.3% were elderly and 5.8% were adults, respectively. 97.22% of the patients reported treatment-related symptoms, of which 69.4% were associated with GIT. The symptoms were not associated with weight loss. There was no significant relationship between weight loss and the percentage of weight loss with the location of the cancer in the GIT. Conclusion: there was no change in the nutritional status of the patients investigated. However, both weight loss and weight gain were observed during the chemotherapy treatment. Weight changes did not show a significant association with symptoms and cancers.