Alimentación sostenida durante diarrea aguda en niños menores de cinco años

Abstract

ARTÍCULO ORIGINAL Alimentación durante diarrea agudaMartínez-Salgado H, Diez-Urdanivia S, Meneses-Díaz LM. Sustained feeding during acute diarrhea in children younger than five years of age. Salud Publica Mex 1998;40:141-149. AbstractObjective. To identify locally available and culturally acceptable foods for children with acute diarrhea, and test their acceptance and effect on the child's weight. Material and methods. 142 mothers of children younger than five years of age living in rural communities were interviewed to indentify culturally accepted diets by means of group sorting. These were displayed in a multidimensional scale. A descriptive study was performed of the clinical course of 54 children, ages 4 to 50 months who received the designed diets during the first 48 hours of diarrhea. Results. The designed diets considered age of the child, and stage of the disease. Children spent 47.6 ± 22.2 h in the hospital during which they consumed 44.8 ± 28.6 kcal/kg/day (additional to breast milk) and they gained 70.6 ± 179.7 g. A direct relationship was observed between increasing age and larger caloric intake, and between this and greater weight gain. Conclusion. Children showed good acceptance of diets. Caloric intake was enough to prevent weight loss.