Short-Term Prognosis in Protein–Calorie Malnutrition

Abstract

The overall mortality in 146 Arab children suffering from protein-calorie malnutrition (P-CM) was 28.1% with death frequently occurring soon after admission. Ninety percent had severe accompanying infections. Mortality was higher in boys than girls, was unrelated to weight loss or age (with the exception of kwashiorkor under 1 year), and greater in kwashiorkor than in marasmus. Of the clinical signs used in the Simple Scoring System to define nutritional type, only dermatosis was specifically associated with a poor prognosis. Of a number of laboratory tests carried out shortly after admission, hematocrit, α₁-globulin, β-globulin, γ-globulin, serum carotenoid, serum vitamin A, and serum vitamin E were found to be significantly different in those who recovered and those who died. The same tests were repeated at 15-day intervals up to 2 months after admission and the pattern of recovery was studied. The significance of these findings for treatment and prognosis and their relation to time results of others are discussed.