Severe primary malnutrition in US children
R. Listernick, K. Christoffel, J. Pace and J. Chiaramonte
We studied 16 children aged 18 months or less who had severe primary
protein-calorie malnutrition. All were admitted to one urban pediatric
teaching hospital for treatment of failure to thrive between Jan 1, 1980,
and Aug 30, 1984. The definitions of malnutrition were based on those of
the Wellcome Trust. The patients had no evidence of medical causes for
their conditions and grew rapidly when they were refed in the hospital.
Eight were products of teenage pregnancies. Eleven patients were receiving
public aid, and four had no third-party coverage. All were markedly below
the fifth percentile in weight for length; their mean percentage of
expected weight for age was 0.55. The mean hospital stay was 18.5 days.
Severe primary protein-calorie malnutrition does exist in the United
States. Thorough nutritional evaluation in children with failure to thrive
is indicated, and malnutrition should be a reportable condition in the
United States.
