Bushra Khalil, Muhammad Hussain, Wajiha Taj, Sajid Iqbal, Muhammad Irshad, Muhammad Jamal Khan, Ihsan Ullah.
Frequency of pulmonary tuberculosis in severely acute malnourished children and its association acute malnourished children and its association with inappropriate feeding practices with inappropriate feeding.
J Med Sci Jan ;28(3):252-5.

Objective: To determine the frequency of pulmonary Tuberculosis (TB) among the inpatient severely malnourished children and its association with the inappropriate feeding practices. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Nutritional Rehabilitation Unit/Stabilization Center (NRU/SC), Pediatric ward, Lady reading hospital Peshawar. A total of 222 (118 male and 104 females) severely malnourished In-patients aged 2-59 months were enrolled and their demographics like age, gender, parent`s literacy rate, family income and family type were studied. All enrolled patients were examined for screening and diagnosis of TB using the National TB control Program and Pakistan Pediatric Association scoring chart. Socio-demographic characteristics, nutritional status, immunization status, and feeding practices of all the enrolled subjects were determined and analyzed. Results: A total of 82(36.9%) out of 222 patients were diagnosed with TB. Among 82 TB patients, 58 patients (70.7%) were severely malnourished, indicating that malnutrition is a risk factor for TB. Among the TB patient only 2.4% were breastfed. Lower rate of breast feeding was significantly (p<0.05) associated with greater occurrence. Majority (63.4%) cases of the TB started complimentary feeding late as compared to the recommended age (p<0.05). Other characteristics like family type, illiteracy, poverty and lack of immunization had some association the increased risk of TB but not significant. Conclusion: Malnutrition and inappropriate feeding practices increased the risk of developing Pulmonary Tuberculosis.

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