Publication Details
Abstract
Iron deficiency anemia is still one of the most prevalent of all hematological conditions in young children, especially under any circumstances which involve chronic nutritional limitation, where nutritional and growth deficits slowly exacerbate the clinical symptoms and have a negative impact on a child's overall development. In the present study, an attempt was made to assess the clinical and laboratory features of IDA in children with different grades of protein-energy malnutrition and to establish the correlation between nutritional status and hematological derangements. A total of 78 children aged 1-5 years with Iron Deficiency Anemia were included in the study, and were grouped by BMI-for-age Z score category. Hematological and biochemical investigations in addition to clinical examination showed that both hemoglobin, ferritin and serum iron levels decreased with increasing severity of malnutrition. Positive correlation between BAZ indicators and hematological parameters was found, which confirmed the role of nutritional assessment in the management of anemia in children.