Dietary Assessment and Prevalence of Refeeding Syndrome in High-risk TB Patients in Chhattisgarh, India

Severe tuberculosis (TB) leads to wasting and anorexia, increasing risk of the refeeding syndrome (RFS) as defined by current criteria. TB patients have high metabolic rates and require a high calorie diet, with nutritional supplementation programs improving outcomes. BMI inversely correlates with mortality in these patients. Risk of RFS, a life-threatening syndrome associated with initiation of feeding after a period of low intake, has not been studied in this population and it is not known whether severely malnourished TB patients benefit from lower caloric intake. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of RFS in TB inpatients in rural India and correlate this with baseline and inpatient caloric intake.