Clinical Spectrum of admitted Severely Acute Malnourished Children at The Indus Hospital Karachi: An Evaluation of One year’s experience.

  • Unaisa Kazi The Indus Hospital, Karachi
  • Sana Tariq Shalamar Medical & Dental College
  • Sarosh Saleem Shalamar Medical & Dental College, Lahore
  • Muhammad Fareeduddin The Indus Hospital, Karachi
Keywords: Acute Malnutrition; Childhood Malnutrition; Marasmus; Childhood Morbidity

Abstract

Malnutrition is a major health problem and causes death of nearly one million infants and children across the globe, annually. A large population of children in Pakistan aslo, suffers from malnutrition.

Objective: The study aims to review the morbidity and mortality patterns of Pediatric in-patients with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) at The Indus Hospital (TIH), Karachi in period of one year.

Methods: A retrospective audit review of Pediatric inpatients with diagnosis of Severe Acute Malnutrition during June 2014 to June 2015 was performed. The electronic medical records of all malnourished children under five years of age were included in the review.

Results: The total of 341 children with average age of 2.2 years were admitted at The Indus Hospital, Karachi. In all, 54.5 percent (n=186) children were female while rest of them were male. The mean weight of children subjected to SAM was 5.42kgs. The majority of the children had Marasmus malnutrition (96.3%) while the Khawashkor was observed in only 3.7%. The common morbidities found were different infections (n=313), electrolyte imbalances (n=112), and Congenital/Chromosomal/Hormonal disorders (n=45). Anemia was found in most (95.38% ) of children with SAM.

Conclusion: The severe acute malnutrition is associated with different morbidities and metabolic as well as congenital abnormalities. Due to the weak immune system and low level of nutrients in the body, the children with SAM are synergistically associated with the high mortality rate. More data from different regions of Pakistan is needed to develop policies and strategies to effectively manage malnutrition in Pakistan.

Author Biographies

Unaisa Kazi, The Indus Hospital, Karachi

Pediatric Specialist & Nutritionist, Department of Pediatrics, The Indus Hospital, Karachi

Sana Tariq, Shalamar Medical & Dental College

Research Associate, Department of Bioethics

Muhammad Fareeduddin, The Indus Hospital, Karachi

Consultant, Department of Pediatrics

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Published
2019-02-21
How to Cite
Kazi, U., Tariq, S., Saleem, S., & Fareeduddin, M. (2019). Clinical Spectrum of admitted Severely Acute Malnourished Children at The Indus Hospital Karachi: An Evaluation of One year’s experience. Annals of Jinnah Sindh Medical University, 4(2), 70-74. Retrieved from http://104.215.57.51/index.php/AJSMU/article/view/35

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