title: Outcome of moderate to severe malnutrition following persistent diarrhoea--a hospital-based retrospective study.
abstract: We aimed to determine the outcome of nutritional intervention in children with moderate to severe malnutrition following persistent diarrhoea (PD), referred to a tertiary referral unit in Malaysia. Thirty-one (44%) of the 71 children (median age 19 months) with PD had moderate to severe malnutrition on admission. Fifty-three (75%) required dietary modification and 15 (21%) needed parenteral nutrition (PN, median duration 96 days). Of the 70 patients in whom remission of diarrhoea could be ascertained, 64 (91%) achieved remission. Three required home PN. At three months after discharge, there was a significant improvement in the mean weight-for-height z-score as compared to the original score at initial presentation (from -1.83 +/- -1.77 to -0.80 +/- -1.17; p < 0.001), although 12 (22%) of the 55 patients in whom nutritional status could be ascertained still had moderate to severe malnutrition. In conclusion, moderate to severe malnutrition was a common complication following PD resulting from diverse causes. With appropriate therapy, remission can be achieved in majority of patients, although a small number of patients needed home PN because of persistence of diarrhoea.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, University of Malaya Medical Centre, 59100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. leews@um.edu.my
authors.forename: W S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Gan
authors.forename: P F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Chai
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Harun
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008296:Malaysia; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D044623:Nutrition Therapy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome