Asma Mushtaq, Shahida Rehman.
Protein – Energy Malnutrition in Children: a review from a Tertiary Care Hospital.
Pak J Med Health Sci Jan ;8(1):196-8.

Aim: To determine the clinical presentation and outcome of children under age of five, who were admitted with severe protein- energy malnutrition in the hospital. Methods: This Descriptive study was conducted at the Department of Pediatric Medicine, The Children's Hospital and The Institute of Child Health, Lahore. A total of 65 patients, who were admitted with severe- protein energy malnutrition from January, 2013 to June, 2013 were included in the study. All patients of both genders who were less than 5 years of age and diagnosed as primary protein- energy malnutrition during the study period were included in the study. Results: A total of 65 patients (41 males and 24 females) with the mean age of 23.66 (SD 1.39) months, were diagnosed as severe protein- energy malnutrition. The most common presenting complaints were fever in 53(81.5%), diarrhea in 43(66.2%), vomiting in 33(50.8%) and cough in 40 (61.5%) patients. History of repeated chest infections in 10(15.4%) and recurrent diarrheas in 35 (53.8%) patients was present. On examination, signs of micronutrient deficiency were present in 44(67.7%), skin infections in 17(26.2%), hair and eye changes in 8(12.3%), rash of zinc deficiency in 7 (10.7%) and edema in 41(63.1%) patients. Nutritional assessment was done by using Z- scoring system for classification of under nutrition. O Conclusion: Malnutrition is a common problem in developing countries with variable clinical presentation. Lack of breast feeding and late weaning are important risk factors for malnutrition. Combination of these factors and malnutrition predisposes these children to various infections like diarrhea, respiratory infections and sepsis.

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