Anaemias of Marasmus and Kwashiorkor in Kenya

Kondi, Athena; Macdougall, Lorna G.; Foy, Henry; Mehta, S; Mbaya, Vertistine

doi:10.1136/adc.38.199.267

Cited by 34 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 37 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The hem atological profiles of the groups studied differed in three classical indicators of iron status: The ab sence of an efficient ph ysiological mechani sm b y whi ch the organi sm can eliminate excess iron requires a strict regulation of its uptake at the Guatemalan children of the same age (22), a nd was representative of previous find ings in PEM chi ldren reported from INCAP (l ,23) a nd from other developing countries (24)(25)(26)(27). The seria l ch anges in Hb , serum iron, a nd TIBC throughout th e study are shown in F ig.…”

Section: Days Of Treatmentsupporting

confidence: 55%

Homeostatic Mechanisms in the Utilization of Exogenous Iron in Children Recovering from Severe Malnutrition

Caballero,

Solomons,

Batres

et al. 1985

J. pediatr. gastroenterol. nutr.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We evaluated the role of initial iron stores on iron accumulation during recovery from severe edematous protein‐energy malnutrition in children. Twenty‐six preschool children were divided in two groups according to their initial iron reserves, as estimated from serum ferritin concentration, using a cutoff criterion of 30 ng/ml. The low ferritin (LF) group had a mean serum ferritin level of 12 ± 8 ng/dl, and the high ferritin (HF) group, 86 ± 32 ng/dl. Both groups had similar degrees of malnutrition and of anemia, as defined by hemoglobin concentration. All children received an adequate therapeutic diet and 60 mg iron daily as ferrous sulfate. The recovery of biochemical and anthropometric indicators of nutritional status, as well as of hemoglobin concentration, was similar in both groups. On the contrary, the LF group showed a marked increase in serum ferritin concentration from the onset of treatment, whereas the HF group had a net decline in this parameter by 30 days, and a stable level thereafter. The difference in serum ferritin concentration between groups was maintained until day 60, and both groups ended the study (90 days) with similar levels. Estimation of the utilization of exogenous iron from changes in total‐body iron during the first 60 days of recovery showed the LF group to retain an average of 9.3% of iron intake, whereas the HF group retained only 1.4%. These results confirm that similar degrees of anemia in severe malnutrition can be associated with markedly different iron reserves, and suggest that the homeostatic regulation of intestinal iron absorption by the storage iron pool may produce a lower utilization of oral iron supplements in malnourished children with high iron reserves at the onset of treatment.

show abstract