A research report submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the
Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree
of
Master or Medicine in the branch of Paediatrics
Johannesburg, 2015 / Malnutrition and diarrhoea are major causes of childhood morbidity and mortality in
the developing world. Lactose malabsorption has been associated with diarrhoea in
malnourished children, but they are often managed with lactose containing feeds.
This study quantified the prevalence of lactose malabsorption in children with severe
acute malnutrition (SAM) and diarrhoea admitted to an urban South African hospital.
Sixty-three Children with SAM and diarrhoea were included in the study and had their
stool tested for reducing substances using the Benedict’s test. Fifty-nine percent had
stool positive for reducing substances (≥0.5g%). After multivariate analysis, age of
<12 months was the only factor found to significantly predict positive reducing
substances (LR 4, p=0.046). Death was 4 times more likely in children with positive
reducing substances (p=0.035). The role of lactose free feeds in children with SAM
and diarrhoea has not been adequately explored.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/19956 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Mclaren, Britta Jane |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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