Abstract
Objective: To determine the frequency of pulmonary Tuberculosis (TB) among severely malnourished children and its association with inappropriate feeding practices.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Nutritional Rehabilitation Unit/Stabilization Center
(NRU/SC), Pediatric ward, Lady reading hospital Peshawar. A total of 222 (118 male and 104 females) severely malnourished
In-patients, aged 2-59 months were enrolled and their demographics like age, gender, parent’s literacy rate, family income
and family type were studied. All enrolled patients were screened for TB using the National TB control Program and Pakistan
Pediatric Association scoring chart. Socio-demographic characteristics, nutritional status, immunization status, and feeding
practices of all the enrolled subjects were determined and analyzed.
Results: Amongst 222 patients, 82(36.9%) were diagnosed with TB. Among these, 58 patients (70.7%) were severely malnourished, indicating that malnutrition may be a risk factor for TB. Among these, only 2.4% were breastfed. Lower rate of
breast feeding was significantly (p<0.05) associated with greater occurrence of TB. Majority (63.4%) of TB cases started
complimentary feeding late as compared to the recommended age (p<0.05). Other characteristics like family type, illiteracy,
poverty and lack of immunization had insignificant association with increased risk of TB
Conclusion: Malnutrition and inappropriate feeding practices increased the risk of developing Pulmonary Tuberculosis
Bushra Khalil, Mohammad Hussain, Wajiha Taj, Sajid Iqbal, Mohammad Irshad, Ihsan Ullah, Muhammad Jamal Khan. (2020) FREQUENCY OF PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS IN SEVERELY ACUTE MALNOURISHED CHILDREN AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH INAPPROPRIATE FEEDING PRACTICES, Journal of Medical Sciences, Volume 28, Issue 3.
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