Volume : 6, Issue : 8, August - 2017

A STUDY OF ANEMIA IN HOSPITALISED INFANTS AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Dr Rosy Khandelia

Abstract :

<p>&nbsp;<b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;">Background: Anemia is a significant public health problem that occurs worldwide with higher prevalence noted in children less than 3 years. Objective: This study was done to evaluate the proportion, morphological patterns and severity of anemia among hospitalized infants. Material and Methods: A prospective study was done on infants between 6-12 months of age presenting to paediatric OPD of a tertiary care hospital over a span of one year. We evaluate the results of complete blood count and peripheral blood smear of all hospitalized infants after taking informed consent from the parents. The WHO criterion (hemoglobin&lt; 11 g/dL) was used to diagnose anemia . To categorize the degree of anemia, the following cut-off points were used: 10.0-10.9 g/dL &ndash; mild anemia; 7.0-9.9 g/dl &ndash; moderate anemia; &lt; 7 g/dl &ndash; severe anemia. Results: Out of 240 cases, 95(39.5%) infants were found to be anemic . 55 male and 40 female infants were found to be anemic. Commonest pattern of anemia was microcytic hypochromic(68.4%) suggesting iron deficiency as the major cause for nutritional anemia in infants. 51.5% of infants had moderate to severe anemia. Conclusion: We conclude that it is important to determine the proportion, morphological patterns and severity of anemia in infants so that we can&nbsp; direct the investigation for profiling the etiology since it is well known that the treatment of anemia goes a long way in improving the overall outcome and quality of life.</span></b>< /> <b><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;">< clear="all" style="page-eak-before:always;mso-eak-type:section-eak" /> </span></b></p>