[Undernutrition in hospitalised children. Part I].

The Aim Of The Study: Determination of the incidence of undernutrition among children on admission to hospital.

Material And Methods: In 818 patients aged l week to 20 years admitted to Paediatric Department from January to May 2004, the height and body mass was recorded and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. The incidence of undernutrition in this population was calculated.

Results: Body mass below 10th percentile was found in 158 children (19.3%). including 96 with body mass <3 percentile. Undernutrition was more frequent in children below 5 year of age (22.16%) than in the older ones (16.74%).

Conclusions: Undernutrition among children admitted to hospital is relatively frequent and can make treatment more difficult and expensive.