Resumo (EN)
Objective – To evaluate the influence of an early nasogastric probing (NP) in Body Mass Index (BMI) of patients with head and neck cancer. Method – This was a comparative descriptive research with quantitative analysis in which we selected 20 patients with cancer of the head and neck oncology at the Angelina Caron Hospital-PR and separated into two groups. Results – The comparative analysis between the two groups was performed using the BMI, calculated for five consecutive weeks. Conclusion – It was found that in A group were maintained or increased BMI at the end of five weeks, while B group was clearly the drastic reduction in BMI in the initial stage of treatment and further increased after the introduction of (NP). Early initiation of (NP) is able to significantly improve the nutritional status of patients suffering from head and neck cancer.