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

• Published in: Journal of viral hepatitis 2010-05, Vol.17 (5), p.367-371
• Main Authors: Sathiaraj, E., Chutke, M., Mahurkar, S., Nagaraja Rao, P., Nageshwar Reddy, D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: acute viral hepatitis; Adult; Calories; Calorimetry; diet; Dietary restrictions; Feeding Behavior; Female; Food intake; Hepatitis; Hepatitis, Viral, Human - complications; Hepatitis, Viral, Human - psychology; Humans; Hypocaloric diet; jaundice; length of hospitalization; Length of Stay - statistics & numerical data; Male; Middle Aged; Nutrition; nutrition education; Perception; Standard deviation; Statistical analysis
• ISSN: 1352-0504; 1365-2893
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2893.2009.01184.x

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