Protein-energy nutritional status of pediatric cancer patients.

Surveys of protein-energy nutritional status were conducted in pediatric cancer outpatients (28) and inpatients (71). In the outpatients, the approximate prevalences of severe (greater than 40%) deviations of weight, triceps skinfold, and arm muscle area below the medians for height-age were respectively 0, 14, and 0%. In the inpatients, these prevalences were respectively 1, 20, and 6%. The percentages of inpatients with abnormally low (less than 5th percentile) weight-for-height, triceps skinfold, and arm muscle area were 14, 14, and 20%, respectively. All inpatients with triceps skinfold or arm muscle area less than 60% of the median for height-age had corresponding percentile values of less than 15.