The cyrrhogenic evolution of chronic liver disease negatively influences nutritional status and development, especially in childhood, when the growth rate is maximal. The consequences of nutritional disorders in liver cirrhosis in the child are systemic: failure to thrive, growth and developmental disorders, increased susceptibility to infections - with long-term impact. In this regard, nutritional status is a component of the Pediatric End-stage Liver Disease (PELD) score for hepatic transplantation.
The study of 47 patients with liver cirrhosis of various aetiologies establishes the link between of nutritional status, assessed by somatometric parameters in dynamics, with the evolution and prognosis of these patients. BMI shows an average value of 18.5 kg / m2 to the lower limit of normal, demonstrating a somewhat deficient nutritional status within the study group. The improvement of nutritional status through dietary measures and hepatoprotective therapy was observed in 15 patients (33.6% of cases). At the same time, nutrition was modified in order to modulate the hepatic encephalopathy, assessed by psychometric testing. The prevalence of infectious episodes have also decreased in children with improvement of nutritional status.
Early identification and treatment of malnutrition in chronic liver disease has the potential to lead to better disease outcome as well as prevention of the complications of chronic liver disease and improved transplant outcomes. Mechanisms are both immune modulation (antiinfectious protection) and metabolic influences at systemic level.

THE ROLE OF NUTRITIONAL STATUS IN THE EVOLUTION AND PROGNOSIS OF CHILDREN WITH LIVER CIRRHOSIS