Dietary alterations due to perceptions in acute viral hepatitis lead to sub-optimal calorie intake and increased length of hospitalization.

Although there are no dietary restrictions recommended in acute viral hepatitis (AVH), there is an altered food intake, probably because of perceptions and traditional nutritional practices, leading to sub-optimal intake and poorer clinical outcome. Therefore, we aimed to determine nutritional intake of AVH patients before and after disease onset and to investigate if optimal intake following nutrition education shortened the length of hospitalization (LOH). Seventy-five patients with AVH were interviewed for foods consumed and avoided because of perceptions during illness. Nutrition education was given to all patients with meal plan. In-patients were monitored for their nutritional intake until discharge. All patients were followed up after 2 weeks to assess compliance to the plan. There was a statistically significant decrease in mean calorie and protein intake in AVH patients during illness [1314 kcal (standard deviation, SD 291) and 27.5 g (SD 8.84)] when compared with that before onset of the disease [1873 kcal (SD 246) and 51.5 g (SD 8.03); P < 0.0001]. Mean LOH in patients consuming a high calorie diet [6.28 days (SD 2.91)] was significantly lower than those consuming low calories [8.36 days (SD 2.59), P = 0.024]. Two-week follow up revealed that 70% of patients modified their diet to a balanced normal diet as per the given plan. Our study showed that AVH patients consumed sub-optimal calories because of perceptions and traditional nutritional practices. Nutrition education played a major role in achieving overall nutritional goals and in decreasing the LOH.