Pediatrics anemia: an approach towards dietary managements in a child

Ananya Anurakta Pattanaik, Puspanjali Mishra*, Jatindra Nath Mohanty

IMS and Sum hospital, SOA deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

ABSTRACT

Around the world, anemia affects up to one-half of children younger than five years. The most well-known reason for anemia is not getting enough iron. A child who is anemic does not have enough Red blood cells or enough hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is a protein that lets red blood cells carry oxygen to other cells in the body. Iron is a mineral that carries oxygen in the blood, and is particularly important for children because of their rapid growth. Here in this study our aim is to analyze a young anemia child with all basic parameters and scrutiny in dietary supervision. In initial stage, the child hemoglobin content had become too low and was advised for a Packet red blood cell transfusion 10ml/kg. The patient was taking liquid diet by rigid thermal foil from central therapeutic kitchen. He was taking 50ml into 4 feed 3 hourly. Apart from the therapeutic kitchen iron rich foods such as carrot/ apple/ sorghum/ beet / pomegranate was suggested. We found the patient improvement in biochemical parameters (hemoglobin), the weight was increased by 2.5kg, and platelet count has also become normal. With World Health Organization, other well-known pediatrics organizations have proposed many recommendations for prevention of iron deficiency which is the most common nutritional deficiency in the whole world. Diets with iron, giving iron-rich formulas when breast milk is insufficient, avoiding cow’s milk in the first year of life, screening infants in the 9–12th months in terms of iron deficiency and giving infants iron prophylaxis.

Keywords:

Pediatrics anemia, haemoglobin, infants, iron, management.