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[Chronic hypothermia and a disordered thermoregulation in a child with severe brain damage and malnutrition]
Insights
Severe brain damage and malnutrition can disrupt body temperature regulation in children. Nutritional support significantly improved thermoregulation and sleep patterns in a young boy with these conditions.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Neuroscience
- Metabolism
Background:
- Disordered thermoregulation is observed in patients with brain damage, particularly when accompanied by malnutrition.
- A case study focused on an 11-year-old boy with severe prenatal brain damage, significant growth retardation, and feeding difficulties.
Observation:
- The patient exhibited persistent low body temperature (34.0-36.0°C) starting at age 9.
- He had a very low oral intake (150-200 kcal/day) prior to hospitalization.
- Continuous rectal temperature monitoring was initiated during hospitalization for an acute infection.
Findings:
- Following recovery from infection, the patient received a high-calorie diet via nasal tube.
- Administration of adequate nutrition led to dramatic improvements in sleep patterns, body temperature, and overall thermoregulation.
- The study highlights the link between chronic malnutrition and disturbed circadian body temperature rhythms in children with brain damage.
Implications:
- Nutritional intervention is crucial for managing thermoregulation disorders in pediatric patients with brain damage.
- Addressing malnutrition may help restore normal circadian rhythms of body temperature.
- This case underscores the complex interplay between neurological status, nutrition, and physiological regulation.
Abstract:
Patients with brain damage, especially under malnutrition, sometimes show a disordered thermoregulation. Our case was an 11 year-3-month-old boy with severe brain damage probably of prenatal origin, who was physically extremely small in size for age and showed difficulty of taking food. Low body temperature ranging from 34.0 degrees C to 36.0 degrees C became outstanding since 9 years of age. Continuous rectum temperature monitoring was starged, when he was admitted in our department of pediatrics in Tokyo Women's Medical College Hospital for the therapy of acute infection. Before hospitalization, he took orally only 150 to 200 kcal/day. After the recovery from the infection, a higher calorie diet appropriate for his body weight was given through a nasal tube. Dramatic improvement was observed in terms of sleep pattern, body temperature and thermoregulation after the administration of higher calorie nutrients. It is suggested that the circadian rhythm of the body temperature would be disturbed by chronic malnutrition in children with brain damage.