Abstract:
Children with heart disease are prone to develop malnutrition and malnutrition in the children with heart diseases is associated with increased mortality and morbidity and poor prognosis. The assessment of malnutrition among children with heart failure can be done by anthropometric method and biochemical test. There are limited studies done on malnutrition among children with heart failure in Africa and Ethiopia and there is no published data or research done on the prevalence of malnutrition among children with heart disease in Harar. There is no published data or topic under study in Hiwot Fana Specialized University Hospital. Hiwot Fana Specialized University Hospital is selected because most of children with heart diseases in and around Harar are treated and followed in this hospital
Objectives: The aim this study is to determine the prevalence of malnutrition using anthropometric measurements and laboratory method among children with heart disease in Hiwot fana Specialized University Hospital Pediatric Cardiac Follow-Up Clinic from December 20, 2019 to January 31, 2020
Methodology: A hospital based descriptive prospective cross- sectional study was conducted on all children attending pediatric cardiac follow-up clinic. The sample size was 110 form previous studies and a consecutive serial sampling technique was used until sample size of 110 is fulfilled. Anthropometric measurements including weight, Height, MUAC, HC, Weight for Height, Weight for age, BMI and Height for age was done and laboratory method such as serum albumin was determined. The data was collected using the structured data collecting form and entered into WHO anthro version 3.2.2 and the result was exported to and analysed quantitatively by using SPSS version 21.0
Result: Of 110 children with heart diseases, Majority of the participant children (60%) were above 5years. Majority of the participants were from the rural areas. The prevalence of wasting was 82.7 % among children aged 0-15years and the prevalence of underweight was 68.2 % among children aged 0-10years. The prevalence of stunting was 36.3 %( 40) among 110 children aged 0 to 15years. 91.8%(101) children had one or more forms of malnutrition. Among those children who have serum albumin level, 72.6 %( 54) of children were found low serum albumin level(hypoalbuminemia) which indicates the prevalence of malnutrition based on laboratory methods
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Conclusion and Recommendation: In conclusion, malnutrition is very common in children with heart disease. Children with heart disease had high prevalence rates of wasting, underweight, stunting. This study shows that the prevalence of undernutrition is higher in the study population compared to most previous studies. The results of this study could have significant implications for physicians caring for children with heart disease in developing countries. It is therefore recommended that there should be early screening and timely intervention for under-nutrition in children with heart diseases.
