Hematological profile of children with severe acute malnutrition: a tertiary care centre experience

Abstract

Background: Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is associated with various pathophysiological changes in the body including hematological system. This study was done to understand the hematological profile of severely malnourished children.Methods: This case control study was conducted in the Department of pediatrics, G.S.V.M. Medical College, Kanpur from January 2014 to December 2015. 200 children, aged 6 months- 5years admitted to our hospital with SAM were enrolled as cases. 200 children with normal nutritional status without haematological or infectious conditions attending routine clinic were selected as controls. The hematological parameters were analyzed using an automated blood Analyzer.Results: 95% of the children with SAM had anemia, out of which 52% were severely anemic and 28% were moderately anemic. Mean value for hemoglobin was lower in test group (7.17±2.265gm/dl) as compared to control group (9.22±3.362gm/dl). Children with SAM had statistically significant lower mean values for red cell indices like RBC counts, MCV, MCH and MCHC compared to controls. The mean value of WBC in SAM children was 12.1±11.5×103, while it was 6.2± 7.8×103 in controls. The cases had higher mean value for neutrophils and lower mean value for lymphocytes.Conclusions: Children with SAM had lower mean hemoglobin, hematocrit and red cell indices and higher mean value of total leukocyte and platelet counts. This study recommends that more frequent studies should be done to describe the trend of hematopoietic changes in children with SAM to enhance anticipatory care and outcome of the affected children.

The Marketing Tactics Used for Selling Artificially Processed Food , its Impact on Child Health

“…It was postulated that due to ritual and social norms, parents give more importance and seek medical advice more often for a male child. However, our study, despite showing Female Sex preponderancewhich were consistent with other previous studiesChaudhary et al [37] and Sandeep B et al [42].…”

“…The SD score is used in population studies. [41](2017) on a study of clinical and haematological profile ofpaediatric patient with protein energy malnutrition showed majority of severe acute malnourished patients were in age group of 4-5 years i.e 42.86% followed by 2-3 years i.e 18.37%.A clinical study by Sandeep B et al [42](2017) on nutritional status under 5 yearsof age in correlation with iron deficiency Anemia found that SAM was common in age group of 2-3 years (43.1%).Clinical examination provides clues for assessing the nutritional status as well as the severity of the disease. Jelliffe has classified the clinical signs for easy identification and interpretation.…”

Antimicrobial and micronutrient interventions for the management of infants under 6 months of age identified with severe malnutrition: a literature review

“…The global burden of anaemia in children and infants is estimated to be 41.8% ( Mclean et al, 2008 ) and amongst the ‘SAM’ population, two studies from India estimate the prevalence of severe anaemia in the child ‘SAM’ population between 52-67.3%, with a microcytic predominance ( Thakur et al, 2014 ; Arya et al, 2017 ). Most of an infant’s iron stores are endowed by the time of birth at term gestation with little derived from breast milk ( Ziegler, Nelson & Jeter, 2011 ).…”

Peer Review #1 of "Antimicrobial and micronutrient interventions for the management of infants under 6 months of age identified with severe malnutrition: a literature review (v0.1)"

“…The global burden of anaemia in children and infants is estimated to be 41.8% 73 and amongst the 'SAM' population, two studies from India estimate the prevalence of severe anaemia in the child 'SAM' population between 52-67.3%, with a microcytic predominance 74,75 . Most of an infant's iron stores are endowed by the time of birth at term gestation with little derived from breast milk 76 .…”