Preliminary Study of Nutritional Assessment by Triceps Skinfold Thickness and Arm Muscle Circumference in Terminally Ill Cancer Patients in a Palliative Care Ward

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate nutritional status by measuring triceps skinfold thickness and arm muscle circumference in the palliative care ward. Methods: We analyzed 31 terminal cancer patients in the palliative care ward, whose Palliative Prognostic Index (PPI) predicted a prognosis of 21 days or less. Measurements were taken once a week from the time of admission to the ward until the prognosis became daily. Results: Measurements could be performed in all patients. Triceps skinfold thickness, which reflects fat mass, was highly impaired in 80.6% of patients. The arm muscle circumference, which reflects muscle mass, was severely impaired in 3.2%, moderately impaired in 29.0%, mildly impaired in 38.7%, and normal in 29.0% of patients. Multiple measurements were obtained in 16 cases, but only two patients, whose triceps skinfold thickness and arm muscle circumference were normal or mildly impaired from the time of admission until 4 weeks later, had a prognosis of more than 56 days. Conclusion: Routine measurement of triceps skinfold thickness and arm muscle circumference in the palliative care ward may improve the accuracy of prognosis prediction.