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Fecal occult blood screening in children with severe malnutrition
Sarika Jain1, Shukla Das, Piyush Gupta
1Department of Microbiology, University College of Medical Sciences and Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital, Shahdara, Delhi 110 095, India.
Insights
A fecal occult blood test (FOBT) found gastrointestinal bleeding in 60% of severely malnourished children. Early detection of this blood loss is crucial for preventing anemia and complications.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Gastroenterology
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- Severe malnutrition in children is a significant global health issue.
- Gastrointestinal tract blood loss is a potential complication of severe malnutrition.
- Anemia is a common consequence of untreated blood loss.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of gastrointestinal tract blood loss in severely malnourished children.
- To evaluate the utility of the fecal occult blood test (FOBT) for screening this population.
Main Methods:
- Screening of 50 consecutive severely malnourished children.
- Grading of malnutrition according to World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations.
- Detection of gastrointestinal blood loss using a fecal occult blood test (FOBT) kit.
Main Results:
- Thirty out of 50 children (60%) tested positive for fecal occult blood.
- The FOBT identified a high prevalence of occult gastrointestinal bleeding.
Conclusions:
- The fecal occult blood test (FOBT) is a valuable tool for screening severely malnourished children.
- Routine FOBT screening can aid in the early detection and management of gastrointestinal blood loss.
- Timely intervention can mitigate complications such as anemia.
Abstract:
We screened 50 consecutive severely malnourished children for evidence of gastrointestinal tract blood loss. Malnutrition was graded as per WHO recommendations. Gastrointestinal blood loss was detected using fecal occult blood test (FOBT) kit. Thirty (60%) of the study population were documented to be FOBT positive. This simple and rapid test is recommended as a routine screening procedure among severely malnourished children for the detection and timely treatment of occult blood loss, contributing to anemia and related complications.
