Volume : 7, Issue : 10, October - 2018

Prevalence of Malnutrition in Pediatric ?-Thalassemia Major Patients Admitted to a Tertiary Care Center

Mohit Upadhye, Dr. Uday Rajput, Dr. Aarti Kinikar

Abstract :

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:200%"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:&#10;200%;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Background:</span></b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;"> Thalassemia is a group of hereditary hemoglobinopathies having varied clinical presentations and complications. Malnutrition is commonly seen to affect the pediatric patients of &beta;-thalassemia major.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"> Aims and objectives: </b>To estimate the prevalence of malnutrition in the pediatric patients of &beta;-thalassemia major. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Materials and methods: </b>A record based retrospective study was performed involving122 &beta;-thalassemia major patients between 1 to 12 years of age, receiving <span style="mso-no-proof:yes">regular </span>blood transfusions with or without iron chelation therapy. The anthropometric data <span style="mso-no-proof:yes">were</span> analyzed using WHO growth standards. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Results: </b></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;&#10;mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;color:black">30.23% of the total patients were underweight, 9.84% were wasted and 4.92% were wasted and stunted.Patients in the age group of 11 to 12 years seem to be most affected. </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:&#10;200%;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Conclusion:</span></b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;"> The prevalence of underweight in pediatric &beta;-thalassemia major is 34.43%.</span><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;&#10;mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;color:black"> The prevalence of acute malnutrition is 9.84% and that of chronic malnutrition is 4.92%. <o:p></o:p></span></p>