title: Xerophthalmia: a study among malnourished children of West Mednipur District.
abstract: To study the correlation of stages of xerophthalmia in different grades of malnutrition, having 200 children clinically diagnosed having malnutrition as per criteria laid down by the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) were examined to detect the dinical stages of xerophthalmia as proposed by World Health Organisation (WHO). Out of 200 cases with different grades of malnutrition 81 (40.5%), 78 (39.0%), 22 (11.0%) and 19 (9.5%) were found malnourished in grades I, II, III, and IV respectively. Night blindness was earliest feature and seen in 97 cases (48.5%). All the 97 cases of night blindness fell in group of X(N) in which one case had corneal scar and falls in the group of X(S) in clinical staging of xerophthalmia. Thirty-nine (40.2%), 35 (36.1%), 19 (19.6%), 3 (3.1%) and (1.1%) were in clinical stages of xerophthalmia of X(1A), X(1B), X2, X(3A), X(3B)respectively. Severity of xerophthalmia was found directly proportional to severity of malnutrition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthamology, Midnapore Medical College & Hospital, Midnapore.
authors.forename: Chittaranjan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: M Nazarul
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Islam
authors.forename: Milan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chakroborty
authors.forename: Mukul Chandra
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Biswas
authors.forename: Tarapada
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ghosh
authors.forename: Gautam
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Biswas
mesh_terms: D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D015362:Child Nutrition Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014802:Vitamin A Deficiency / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D014985:Xerophthalmia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control