RESUMO
To determine the impact of sanctions on the nutritional status of Iraqi children aged < 6 years, a random sample of 700 patients [age range: 0-6 years] from the Saddam Paediatric Hospital, Diyala Province, Iraq were examined ophthalmologically for evidence of xerophthalmia. Data on the history of infection, feeding and night blindness were also collected. The prevalence of xerophthalmia was 29%, mostly among children aged 1-3 years. Xerophthalmia was significantly inversely associated with breastfeeding and highly associated with common childhood infections such as measles, diarrhoea and respiratory tract infection. Xerophthalmia is a common problem among sick Iraqi children. Efforts to identify, evaluate and monitor vitamin A deficiency and to advocate and plan its eradication should be implemented
Assuntos
Distribuição por Idade , Aleitamento Materno , Transtornos da Nutrição Infantil , Criança Hospitalizada , Pré-Escolar , Comorbidade , Diarreia , Sarampo , Inquéritos Nutricionais , Infecções Respiratórias , XeroftalmiaAssuntos
Deficiência de Vitamina A , Vitamina A , Xeroftalmia , Criança , Estudos Transversais , EtiópiaRESUMO
A survey was conducted on a sample representative of the entire Beheira governorate to identify high-risk areas of vitamin A deficiency [VAD] and assess xerophthalmia prevalence. The study also tested the reliability of a household cluster survey for assessing xerophthalmia prevalence. A trained ophthalmologist examined 10,664 children. The results showed that VAD was present in the region, but did not appear to be a public health problem. Ocular signs of VAD were more prevalent among older children, suggesting an improvement in socioeconomic conditions and health care over the past few years. The household cluster survey appeared to be a reliable method for assessing xerophthalmia prevalence in the region
Assuntos
Distribuição por Idade , Análise por Conglomerados , Inquéritos Epidemiológicos , Vigilância da População , Prevalência , Reprodutibilidade dos Testes , Fatores de Risco , Fatores Socioeconômicos , Deficiência de Vitamina A , XeroftalmiaRESUMO
A practical guide, now in its third edition, to the detection, treatment, and prevention of vitamin A deficiency and its consequences, including associated mortality, infectious morbidity, and xerophthalmia. Addressed to clinicians, nurses, and public health officials, the text has been thoroughly revised to reflect recent advances in knowledge. These include growing recognition of the importance of adequate vitamin A intake for normal child health and survival, and evidence that milder degrees of deficiency mayhave severe consequences, including increased mortality, before xerophthalmia becomes apparent in a population. In line with these advances, the guide offers advice on the detection and treatment of subclinical or marginal degrees of deficiency as well as on the emergency management of xerophthalmia and measles. The guide has six chapters. Background information is provided in the first two, which describe the biochemistry of vitamin A metabolism and explain the complex relationship between specific serum levels and the physiological consequences of deficiency. The third chapter provides a detailed guide to the clinical classification and diagnosis of xerophthalmia. Recognition of the characteristic signs and symptoms of increasingly severe disease is facilitated through the inclusion of 32 colour plates. A chapter on epidemiology concentrates on the many factors that place children, particularly those from depressed rural communities and urban slums, at risk of vitamin A deficiency. Of particular practical value is a chapter on assessment, which explains how well-conceived surveys, appropriate to local conditions, can guide the design of efficient and cost-effective interventions. A chapter on treatment provides schedules for vitamin A dosing in the emergency management of xerophthalmia, severe infectious episodes, and severe protein-energy malnutrition, and offers advice on dietary improvement, essential eye care, and the prevention of recurrence. The final chapter, on prevention, describes the wide range of options that can be followed to meet both short-term and long-term programme goals
Assuntos
Deficiência de Vitamina A , Xeroftalmia , GuiaRESUMO
On trouvera dans ce manuel des directives pour la distribution de suppléments en vitamine A à doses élevées, mesure d'urgence qui permet de soigner ou d'éviter la carence en vitamine A et la xérophtalmie qui lui est associée. Destiné aux administrateurs de la santé et aux responsables de la gestion de programmes, le manuel s'appuie sur les données scientifiques les plus sûres pour préciser les quantités de vitamine A à administrer, les groupes d'âge et les groupes de population visés ainsi que la fréquence et la forme d'administration. Des schémas sont notamment recommandés pour le traitement de la xérophtalmie, pour la prévention de certaines maladies parmi les enfants d'âge préscolaire et pour la distribution générale à titre préventif. Des faits pertinents sont également donnés au lecteur sur différentes formes de préparations de vitamine A, sur la logistique des achats et de la distribution, ainsi que sur les méthodes de calcul des besoins et des coûts. Dans d'autres sections, les groupes cibles prioritaires auxquels il faut distribuer de la vitamine A sont recensés, des mesures sont proposées pour intégrer la distribution de vitamine A dans les systèmes de santé et l'importance de la formation, de la surveillance et de l'évaluation est soulignée. Après une liste de 63 pays classés par degré d'importance, pour la santé publique, de la carence en vitamine A, de la xérophtalmie et de la cécité d'origine nutritionnelle, le manuel se termine par un bref résumé des données relatives à la stabilité des préparations de vitamine A habituellement fournies
