Tratamiento nutricional del niño con trastorno neuromotor

Abstract

The risk of suffering malnutrition is very high in children and adolescents who suffer a certain type of neuromotor pathology (NP) due to different factors that occur in them: motor coordination disorders in the different stages of deglutition, gastroesophageal reflux, oesophagitis, gastritis, gastrocolic reflex alteration, constipation, anorexia, etc. These disorders alter the desirable proportionality between the amount of food given to the patient and the net intakes of it. As a result, the following is necessary: a) the periodic systematic assessment of the nutritional state, adapted to this type of patient and, based on the data obtained; b) taking the appropriate decisions with reference to his/her diet: nutritional needs, options for nutritional support, the route of administration and, finally, c) treatment of the digestive complications, if there are any. With these procedures, help will be given to improve his/her quality of life and to reduce the level of stress that the people in charge of looking after and feeding him/her experience. It is very important to correctly deal with the peculiarities of his/her feeding behaviour. These steps, some of which are complex to tackle, require an inter-disciplinary focus. This work is meant to contribute to these objectives.