Hafiz Haseeb Hanif, Aleezay Tariq, Rida Ajmal Khan, Mohsin Ali Cheema, Nasir Iqbal, Taha Sehar, Muhammad Tariq Bhatti.
Association of Serum Folate and Serum Vitamin B12 Deficiency in Children with Acute Diarrhea.
Pak Paed J Jan ;46(2):166-70.

Objective: To determine the association of serum folate deficiency and vitamin B-12 deficiency in children with acute diarrhea. Study Design: Descriptive study. Place and Duration of Study. This study was conducted in Ali Fatima Hospital Lahore from April 2022 to September 2022 in a span of 6 months after approval from ethical review committee. Material and Methods: 55 children suffering from acute diarrhea (6-48 months of age) who presented in emergency department were recruited for study. Data was collected by convenient sampling method. Detailed history of diarrhea was taken from the parents and was recorded on a proforma and relevant investigation were done. Results: Our results showed that significant proportion of children had vitamin B12 deficiency (27.3%), compared to serum folate deficiency (5.5%). These findings had significant association (p-value=0.04) with the age group i.e., 60% of the children from 6-12 months of age had deficient vitamin B12 levels. Macrocytosis was significantly associated with vitamin B12 deficiency (p-value=0.03), whereas polychromasia was significantly associated with serum folate deficiency (p-value=0.02). Conclusion: Significant proportion of children with acute diarrhea showed both vitamin B12 deficiency and folate deficiency. Significant association of vitamin B12 deficiency was also seen in children between 6-12 months of age.

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