Marasmus
Structured condition card with NCLEX priority cues and nursing action focus.
Marasmus
Also testable as: severe calorie and protein deficiency
Etiology / Pathophysiology
- Severe deficiency of both calories and protein.
- Body fat and muscle are depleted for energy, causing severe wasting and growth failure.
Medications
No specific medication class was seeded for this card.
Signs / symptoms
- Severe wasting suggests calorie and protein deficiency.
- Stabilize and refeed carefully.
Nursing actions
- Assess wasting, growth failure, dehydration, temperature instability, infection signs, intake, and caregiver resources.
- Provide ordered warming, hydration, infection prevention, and cautious nutritional rehabilitation.
- Monitor for hypoglycemia, electrolyte shifts, and refeeding-risk cues.
Complications
- Hypoglycemia
- Hypothermia
- Infection
- Dehydration
- Refeeding syndrome
NCLEX cues
- Severe wasting suggests calorie and protein deficiency.
- Stabilize and refeed carefully.
Memory hooks
- Marasmus: missing macros, muscle melts.
Labs / Diagnostics
- Glucose
- Electrolytes
- Weight/growth trend
- Hydration assessment
Review notes
- Generated from the nutrition entity graph. Verify against ATI/school nutrition materials before validation.
Cross references
Related cards are generated from the shared study map, not hand-built per page.
Condition card for Marasmus: recognize the testable cue, prevent the complication, and choose the safest first nursing action.
Edema with malnutrition points toward protein deficiency.
Malnutrition priorities are assessment, safety, infection prevention, and cautious nutrition restoration.
Shorter half-life protein marker sometimes trended in nutrition assessment.
Malnutrition pattern caused by inadequate protein and/or calorie intake or use.
Potential dangerous electrolyte and fluid shifts when nutrition is restarted after severe malnutrition or starvation.