Malnutrition

Introduction Malnutrition in a broad sense should include both undernutrition or deficiency and overnutrition, and the present is only discussed. Malnutrition often occurs in a number of medical and surgical causes, such as chronic diarrhea, short bowel syndrome, and malabsorption. The non-medical reasons for malnutrition are poor eating habits, lack of nutritional knowledge, and parents neglecting scientific feeding methods. For malnourished people, it is usually possible to treat the primary disease, provide an appropriate diet, educate the parents and follow up carefully.

Cause

Cause of malnutrition

1. Improper feeding method: When feeding artificially, the milking method is wrong, too much water is added, and the long-term supply of calories, protein and fat is insufficient. Breastfed babies, without timely addition of complementary foods, can cause malnutrition in children.

2, disease factors: children with poor physical fitness, repeated colds, indigestion, chronic wasting diseases (parasites, long-term diarrhea, chronic diarrhea), will increase the body's need for nutrients, as parents do not know how to supplement the necessary Nutrients.

3, the child grows too fast, and various nutrients can not be supplied, resulting in a shortage of supply.

an examination

Physical measurement

Physical measurement is the most reliable indicator for assessing malnutrition. At present, there are major changes in the measurement of malnutrition in the world. It consists of three parts.

(1) Low body weight: Children's age, gender and body weight are lower than the median minus 2 standard deviations, but higher than or equal to the median minus 3 standard deviations. Poor weight, such as a median of less than the standard population minus 3 standard deviations for severe weight loss, this indicator reflects the child's past and/or now has chronic and/or acute malnutrition, which alone cannot distinguish acute Still chronic malnutrition.

(2) Growth retardation: The age and gender height of children are 2 standard deviations below the median, but less than or equal to the median minus 3 standard deviations, which is moderate compared with the same age and gender reference population standard. Growth retardation, such as a median decrease of 3 standard deviations below the reference population, is a severe growth retardation. This indicator mainly reflects chronic malnutrition in the past or long-term.

2. Laboratory examination

Malnutrition is a chronic nutritional deficiency caused by insufficient calories or protein, which is more common in infants and young children. As people's lives continue to increase, the incidence of malnutrition has dropped significantly. At present, malnutrition is mostly caused by improper feeding methods or disease factors in infancy, and to a lesser extent.

Differential diagnosis

It should be differentiated from progressive spinal muscular atrophy, polymyositis, myasthenia gravis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

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