[Malnutrition in the infant]

Abstract

Children are especially threatened by malnutrition, because of the high protein-energy cost of growth. Any nutritional deficiency impairs growth velocity, and growth retardation should suggest the presence of an underlying disease. Therefore, auxologic study is an important step of nutritional evaluation, which should belong to each clinical examination in a child. The protein-energy cost of catch-up growth is particularly high, and should lead to a rigorous adjustment of nutritional supply. Early identification of children who are at risk of malnutrition, especially for hospitalized children, is indispensable in order to provide adequate nutritional support on time and then to prevent hospital-acquired malnutrition. Such assessment should use validated pediatric nutritional risk scores.