Background: Malnutrition is still a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children aged less than 5 years and responsible for 60% of the 10 million deaths. The study was designed to evaluate the clinical profile and major clinical co-morbidities among hospitalized children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM).Methods: A prospective study was conducted in a pediatric department of a tertiary care teaching hospital of Haryana. All children aged 6 months to 5 years with SAM admitted between 1st April 2018 to 31st March 2019 were included in the study. The socio-demographic details, anthropometry, clinical details and outcome were recorded in a pre-designed structured performa. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS software version 16. P value<0.05 was considered significant.Results: After screening a total of 131 children, 102 children met the inclusion criteria and were enrolled in the study. Out of these, 50 were males and 52 were females. Majority of children (i.e., 59.8%) belonged to 6-12 months age group. Majority (92.16%) belonged to lower socio-economic status. Exclusive breastfeeding during first 6 months was documented in 74.51% of the children. Delayed initiation of complementary feeds was observed in 78.43% of children and had a significant association with poor future outcome (p<0.05). Major clinical co-morbidities were severe anemia (56.86%), diarrhea (27.45%) and lower respiratory tract infection (19.6%).Conclusions: In our study, most vulnerable age group for severe malnutrition was 6-12 months infants. Low socioeconomic status of family and delayed initiation of complementary feeding were the major risk factors. Most common co-morbidities were severe anemia, diarrhea, lower respiratory tract infections and sepsis emphasizing the need to target these factors.
Severe Acute Malnutrition with Anemia and Vitamin Deficiency in Hospitalized Children: Two Centres Cross Sectional Study
