Evaluation the Pervalance of Malnutrition and its Relation with Fracture Diseases among the Orthopaedic Patients in Kerman Bahonar Hospital

Introduction & Malnutrition is one of the major problems acting as a predisposing factor for fracture disease (i.e. infection, non union, delay union) for which diagnosis and treatment would lead to a significant decrease in non unions, delay unions and infections’ rate. That is why this study was done. We gathered all the relevant pationts in a antespective descriptive study, with a randomized pattern between Aug 2006-Mar 2009. This study also includes all patints in ER who were going to have an orthopedic operation. Height, weight, triceps fold, armcircumstance, history, physicalexam, albumin, complete blood count, TIBC, ESR, and CRP were the parameters which were measured for them. We followed up the patients with random visits and phone calls and in cases of fracture this would be more often. We studied a total number of 104 patients with a mean age of 34 years of which, 76% were men and the rest were women. 35(33.7%) of them had malnutrition and the rest were well nuritied. In our follow up, we found 9 non unions, 8 delay unions and of the infection of 9 non unions 4 were among the malnutrition group and 5 were among the normal group. Delayed union has been reported for 7 cases among the malnutrition group and 1 among the normal group. Infection rate was 6 in malnutrition group and 3 in normal group. The mean age was 34 in the malnutrition group, 35 in the normal group. We found significant statistical relationship between malnutrition and delay union and infection (P=0.005, P=0.02 respectively), but no correlation was found between malnutrition and nonunion (P=0.06). We found a high rate of malnutrition (33.7%) in this study and the relation between delay union and infection and malnutrition was statistically significant. Therefore, it can be concluded that we can reduce the rate of delayed union and infection by identifying the malnutrition patients, and using a suitable nutrition program.