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Infantile Cardiac Beriberi in Rural North East India

Shajin Thankaraj1, Roshine M Koshy2, Vijayanand Ismavel3

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Makunda Christian Leprosy and General Hospital, Assam, India. mail4shajin@gmail.com.

Indian Pediatrics
|October 1, 2020
PubMed

Insights

A thiamine deficiency can cause acute heart failure in exclusively breastfed infants. Prompt intravenous thiamine (100 mg) bolus treatment led to rapid clinical improvement in 92% of cases.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Nutritional Science
  • Cardiology

Background:

  • Acute heart failure syndrome is a critical condition in infants.
  • Nutritional deficiencies can present as severe cardiac distress.
  • Thiamine deficiency is a potentially overlooked cause of heart failure in vulnerable populations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the efficacy of thiamine supplementation in exclusively breastfed infants presenting with acute heart failure syndrome.
  • To highlight the potential for thiamine deficiency as a cause of pediatric heart failure.
  • To raise awareness of this neglected nutritional disease in North East India.

Main Methods:

  • A retrospective case series of 28 exclusively breastfed infants presenting with acute heart failure syndrome between July 2017 and June 2018.
  • Administration of intravenous thiamine (100 mg) bolus to affected infants.
  • Clinical observation of patient response to treatment.

Main Results:

  • Twenty-eight infants were identified with acute heart failure syndrome.
  • 23 out of 28 infants (92%) showed dramatic clinical resolution of shock within 24 hours of receiving intravenous thiamine.
  • The treatment demonstrated rapid and significant efficacy.

Conclusions:

  • Intravenous thiamine bolus is a highly effective treatment for acute heart failure syndrome in exclusively breastfed infants with thiamine deficiency.
  • Thiamine deficiency should be considered in the differential diagnosis of heart failure in this population.
  • Early recognition and treatment of this nutritional deficiency are crucial for rapid recovery.

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