Abstract

TAMAYO MENESES, Luis; RODRIGUEZ VARGAS, Alfredo  and  QUIROGA CHUI, Marisol. Desnutrición mixta grave complicada: Actualización del tratamiento a propósito de un caso. Cuad. - Hosp. Clín. [online]. 2008, vol.53, n.1, pp.60-67. ISSN 1562-6776.

Malnutrition affects more than 5 million children under 5 years of age in developing countries. In spite of treatment, the mortality rate reaches 50% in some countries. Until 1990, one out of each of four children with severe malnutrition died during treatment . The rate of lethality did not change during the last five decades (studies from over 60 countries). At the present, there exist principles of treatment with indisputable scientific bases, and the application of the protocol recommended by WHO -reason for the present actualization -reduces costs, lethality in the hospital, reaches a complete rehabilitation, and its application has originated a fall in mortality to less than 5%. We present the case of a one year-old little boy, admitted to the Gastroenterology Unit of the Children’s Hospital in La Paz whose condition had an evolution of three weeks with an acute diarrheic disease (EDA), associated to a very poor overall state and generalized oedema. The physical exam upon admission, classified the child as mixed undernourished, and due to his critical condition and hemodynamic instability he was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit (UTI), where in spite of the specialized and appropriate treatment, the child died. We publish this case in order to point out the mortality associated with severe malnutrition in spite of the treatment in the UTI, and we present an actualization of the treatment.

Keywords : Severe mixed malnutrition; the ten steps; signicance of the treatment; severely emaciated.

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