INCREASE IN HEIGHT DURING THE FIRST-YEAR AFTER BONE-MARROW TRANSPLANTATION REFLECTING NUTRITIONAL-STATUS OF CHILDREN

We studied the influence of pre-transplant nutritional status on heigh t velocity during the first post-transplant year. Thirty-seven childre n aged 1.4-12.4 years, 19 males and 18 females, underwent bone marrow transplantation (24 allogeneic, 13 autologous) with fractionated total body irradiation included in the preparative regimen of 25. The under lying diagnoses were leukemia (n = 16), malignant solid tumor (n = 11) , and non-malignant hematologic or metabolic disease (n = 10). The ser um concentrations of albumin, pre-albumin and transferrin were measure d, Anthropometric measurements included weight, mid-arm circumference (MAC) and triceps skinfold thickness, expressed as percentages of the age- and sex-specific standards. The skeletal muscle protein reserve w as estimated as muscle index (MI) by ultrasonographic imaging of the f emoral quadriceps muscle. Height velocity was expressed as a standard deviation score (SDS) of the age- and sex-specific mean. The mean rela tive height velocity SDS was -1.6 (95% CI -2.2-1.0). Height velocity c orrelated significantly with pre-transplant MI (r = 0.54, P = 0.004), concentration of serum transferrin (r = 0.33, P = 0.05) and MAC (r = 0 .45, P = 0.04). Our data suggest that pretransplant nutritional status has an impact on growth in height during the post-transplant period.