View clinical trials related to Child Nutrition Disorders.
Filter by:Though malnutrition is prevalent worldwide but its situation is alarming in low- and middle-income countries. Pakistan has also been facing an alarming situation of prevailing severe malnutrition. Malnutrition in its any form costs a huge intolerable burden not only on national health care system, but also on social and economic fabric of the nation. The current management of severe malnutrition is based on World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines and protocols which has been evolved from expert opinions and observational studies. The principles of these protocols have emerged from emergency settings and converting these protocols for developing countries where severe malnutrition, a routine burden is a critical challenge. In the absence of standard protocols for the treatment of uncomplicated severe malnutrition in non-emergency settings it is important to test and optimize different approaches to treat severely acute malnutrition (SAM). It is hypothesized that by optimizing, adapting and implementing time oriented and resource intensive approaches, a huge burden of high cost of RUTF may be reduced. While RUTF may be utilized to treat SAM children in emergency settings, it is not a substitute of local household foods. Therefore, a pilot study has been conducted to compare the various treatment protocols for malnourished children. We specifically hypothesized that a reduced dose of RUTF for reduced duration, combined with age-appropriate food intake from locally available resources can treat uncomplicated SAM children cost effectively as compared to standard national Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) protocol currently implemented in Punjab, Pakistan.
Background: Most patients with cerebral palsy (CP) are dependent on parents due to the spasticity and limitations in their gross motor function. Additionally, many of them do not respond to physical therapy due to deterioration in their nutritional status, which is secondary to gastrointestinal disorders, parasitosis, dysbiosis and the catabolic state of the disease itself. Evidence suggests that greater independence and better clinical response can be achieved by correcting the nutritional status. However, basic treatments only contemplate the calculation of energy requirements and do not consider important nutrients in particular, supplementation with glutamine, arginine, zinc, selenium, colecalciferol, nicotinic acid, spirulina, omega 3, ascorbic acid, vegetal protein or even probiotics. Objective: To determine the effect of using a nutritional support system (NSS) diet, supplements and probiotic on the gross motor function in children with CP with spastic diparesic and Gross Motor Function Classification System III (GMFCS III). Material and methods: In an exploratory study with controlled clinical trial design, 30 patients were randomly assigned to receive: 1) dietary surveillance and conventional therapy (FG), 2) deworming and WHO diet (CG), or 3) deworming and the NSS (IG). The patients were recruited from the Children´s Telethon Rehabilitation Center (CRIT) in Tlalnepantla Estado de México. Males and females aged 4-12 years were included with CP and spastic diparesic GMFCS III, who had a full-time caregiver and whose parents agreed to participate. They were studied for thirteen weeks. Gross motor function was evaluated at baseline and at 7 and 13 weeks after therapy using the GMFM scale.
Dairy animals are an important source of income, food and nutrition security at the household level. However, substandard animal husbandry practices and limited understanding of disease prevention and control may limit dairy animal productivity. Interventions to address these issues may enhance milk production, substantially improving the well-being of smallholder farmers. In addition to increasing household income, greater milk production may improve the diet quality of household members, particularly children. Previously, the investigators implemented a program in rural Nepal promoting enhanced animal husbandry practices (GHP), focusing on mastitis control. Concurrently, the investigators found child milk intake was strongly linked to better growth and development. However, milk intake was limited and its availability was not examined. The investigators now propose to build on these prior activities and examine strategies to increase child milk consumption. The investigators plan to introduce a nutrition education program into 200 households (with young children) which previously received GHP training. A comparison group of 200 households will serve as the control. Household surveys will be conducted at baseline and endline to assess (1) household milk production and the sustainability of adoption of GHP routines, (2) the relationship of household milk production to child milk consumption, (3) household factors influencing child milk consumption (participation in nutrition education, mother's education, socioeconomic status, etc.), and (4) longitudinal child growth and development. In addition, a pilot study will determine if households can accurately record milk production and child milk intake. The project is designed to enhance understanding of the links between milk availability and child milk consumption in rural Nepal. It aims to explore whether milk consumption is limited by availability or other factors (nutrition awareness, socioeconomic status, maternal education). Additionally, the investigators will examine if optimization of milk consumption by young children can further boost their growth and development, and whether instruction in good animal husbandry practice and mastitis control is sustainable. These findings could more appropriately and efficiently direct resources to improve child nutrition and development and household dairy practices.
Acute malnutrition affects 51 million children under the age of 5 worldwide. Malnutrition contributes to nearly half of all child deaths each year, with the forms characterized by wasting or oedema (acute malnutrition) associated with the highest risk of death. Although acute malnutrition is a continuum condition, it is arbitrarily divided into severe and moderate acute malnutrition (SAM, MAM) which are managed separately, with programs overseen by different UN agencies, and using different protocols and products. Such separation complicates delivery of care, contributes to high default and low coverage, and creates confusion among caregivers. Often treatment is only available for SAM children resulting in lives lost and costly hospitalisation that could be averted if nutritional support were available earlier in the wasting process. If we are to reduce the health and mortality burden from malnutrition, the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of current protocols need dramatic improvements. The dosage of Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) for SAM (130-200 kcal/kg/d) has not changed since introduction of out-patient protocols in the mid-2000s. Children classified as SAM in these protocols are determined by three independent criteria: the presence of nutritional oedema or MUAC < 115 mm or weight-height Z score <-3. The RUTF dosage in these protocols is paradoxical in that the absolute amount of RUTF prescribed in the initial phases of treatment is often less than that given as the child nears recovery, because the number of packets in the weekly ration is determined by weight. However, rate of weight gain (g/kg/day) is highest in the first two weeks of treatment, and then plateaus - suggesting no benefit of increased RUTF amounts in the later phases of treatment. Progressive reduction seems to be a more rational use of RUTF. The Optimizing treatment for acute MAlnutrition (OptiMA) strategy consists in simplifying management of acute malnutrition through the use of a single anthropometric admission criterion (mid upper arm circumference [MUAC] < 125 mm or nutritional oedema) - one that best captures children's anthropometry related mortality risk- and by optimizing the use of RUTF by adapting doses to the nutritional recovery of the child. RUTF doses begin at 170 kcal/kg/d for the most severely wasted (MUAC < 115 mm or oedema) and reduce to 75 kcal/kg/d as oedema resolves and MUAC increases > 120 mm. The investigators hypothesize that this strategy could double the number of children in care compared to current SAM programs without substantially increasing the amount of RUTF or staffing required while maintaining a recovery rate in line with current programs. OptiMA may also improve coverage and reduce the need for hospitalization through early identification of malnourished children. The investigators propose to conduct a community-based non-inferiority clinical trial with individual randomization comparing the OptiMA strategy to the Democratic Republic of Congo standard nutritional protocol for SAM. Study children will be randomly assigned to the intervention arm or control arm - with children at MUAC < 125 mm or oedema eligible for RUTF in the intervention arm and those meeting current WHO SAM definition eligible in the control group. All participants will be followed for 9 months post-randomization to assess non-inferiority as defined by a composite of three endpoints : alive, acceptable nutritional status (MUAC ≥ 125 mm and WHZ >-3, no oedema) and no relapse to acute malnutrition for those who were treated with RUTF. The main secondary outcome will assess the non-inferiority of OptiMA RUTF dosing (170 kcal/kg/d) in children meeting current WHO SAM criteria compared to children with the same criteria in the control arm who will receive 130-200 kcal/kg/d.
This is an acceptability study to evaluate the gastrointestinal tolerance and compliance over a seven-day period, of pediatric formula for the dietary management of participants with short bowel syndrome; intractable malabsorption; preoperative preparation of undernourished patients; inflammatory bowel disease; total gastrectomy; dysphagia; bowel fistulae; feeding intolerances, developmental disabilities, disease related malnutrition The acceptability data from 15 participants will be collected in order to submit an application to the Advisory Committee on Borderline Substances (ACBS).
This study compares food insecurity disclosure rates in face-to-face interviews versus electronic formats, and explores caregiver preferences regarding screening modality and location, in a large, urban pediatric emergency department. Half of the participants were screened for food insecurity verbally, face-to-face by a research assistant, and half of the participants were screened electronically by a tablet.
Environmental Enteropathy (EE) is an acquired sub-clinical inflammatory gut condition in which alterations in intestinal structure, function, and local and systemic immune activation lead to impaired vaccine responses, decreased cognitive potential and undernutrition in low-middle income countries. Approximately half of all global deaths in children aged less than five years are attributable to undernutrition making the study of EE an area of critical priority. However, given the operational limitations and ethical considerations for safely obtaining intestinal biopsies from young children in low resource settings, there have been few detailed investigations of human intestinal tissue in this vulnerable patient group for whom reversal of EE would provide the greatest benefit. EE biomarkers have been studied in different settings but these have not been correlated with the gold standard histopathology confirmation. The Study of Environment Enteropathy and Malnutrition in Pakistan (SEEM Pakistan) is designed to better understand the pathophysiology, predictors, biomarkers, and potential management strategies of EE to inform strategies to eradicate this debilitating pathology.
The project seeks to test the integration of Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Groups within Care Group projects and investigate whether the treatment of maternal depression with Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Groups improves the adoption of nutrition-related behaviors that can reduce stunting in the Kitgum District in northern Uganda. A secondary aim is to examine whether the participation in the care groups will also result in remission of depression as a non-specific therapeutic effect although it may not be intended as an antidepressant treatment.
This pilot study will estimate the unique and additive benefits of two parent-training programs (Cooking Matters for Parents and Promoting Routines of Exploration and Play during Mealtime) offered in undeserved communities.
The South Kivu province of DRC has experience continuous armed conflict over the last several decades; as a result, livelihoods and health metrics are uniformly poor. Thus, the objective of this study is to determine if an integrated set of social enterprises can improve child health while offering viable and scalable new business opportunities for the community. Specific research questions include the impact of the individual enterprises on (1) child health, (2) access to clean water, and (3) economic opportunities in the region.