Effectiveness of a Nutritional Care Program on Hospitalized Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients in Phetchabun Hospital

Abstract

Pulmonary tuberculosis remains a major public health problem in Thailand, with malnutrition being a key risk factor for mortality and treatment failure. This quasi-experimental two-group pretest–posttest study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a nutritional care program on body weight, body mass index, and nutritional status, and to compare these outcomes and sputum conversion with usual care. A total of 92 patients admitted to an isolation ward at Phetchabun Hospital were equally assigned to experimental and control groups (n=46 each) and followed for 2 months after discharge. Data were collected using the SPENT Nutrition Screening Tool, Nutritional Alert Form, and outcome assessment forms, and analyzed using Chi-square test, Fisher’s exact test, independent t-test, Paired t-test, and McNemar’s test. After 2 months, the experimental group showed significant increases in body weight (45.72 ± 8.33 to 48.86 ± 7.83 kg) and body mass index (17.33 ± 3.54 to 18.50 ± 3.41 kg/m²) (p < 0.001), along with improved nutritional status (p < 0.001), while the control group showed a significant decrease in body weight  (p = 0.002). Between-group comparison demonstrated a significantly greater increase in body mass index (+1.09 ± 1.05 vs −0.36 ± 1.15 kg/m²; p < 0.001) and a higher proportion of improved nutritional status (p = 0.02) in the experimental group. No significant difference in sputum conversion was observed (p = 0.35). The nutritional care program effectively improves nutritional outcomes and should be integrated into multidisciplinary care.