Severe protein energy malnutrition in Lesotho, conditioning factors and death and survival in hospital.

Information was obtained on infants and children admitted for severe protein energy malnutrition (PEM) to Lesotho's central hospital in 1981 and 1982 as regards feeding pattern, socio-economic, environmental factors and vaccination status. Acute gastroenteritis (GE) appeared to be a major precipitating cause in the development of severe PEM. Of children 13-24 months of age only 13% was still breast fed.

Lactose malabsorption and giardiasis in Basotho school children.

The prevalence of primary, adult-type, lactose malabsorption was assessed by means of the hydrogen breath test after intake of 360 ml of full cream milk (approximately 18 g lactose) in 96 randomly selected Basotho school children, aged 5-15 years. Of 86 children who did not have diarrhoea in the previous week 82 (85%) were lactose malabsorbers, while 4 (5%) could not be classified because of undetectable hydrogen excretion. Milk intolerance presenting as diarrhoea was significantly (p less than 0.

Severe protein energy malnutrition in Lesotho, death and survival in hospital, clinical findings.

In Lesotho's central hospital 55 (25%) of 218 admissions for severe PEM died during 1981 and 1982. Most deaths (62%) occurred in the first week. The most important causes of death were acute GE and pneumonia in marasmus and kwashiorkor, respectively.

Incomplete lactose absorption from breast milk during acute gastroenteritis.

The incidence and degree of incomplete lactose absorption was investigated in breast fed infants and children up to two years of age during acute gastroenteritis (GE). Lactose absorption was assessed in 50 patients by means of the hydrogen breath test (HBT), approximately 5.5 days after the admission to hospital.

Carbohydrate malabsorption in children with severe protein energy malnutrition.

To determine the incidence of carbohydrate malabsorption, particularly lactose malabsorption in Basotho children with severe PEM during treatment with a dry skim milk (DSM)-sucrose-oil mixture, 105 children with PEM were submitted to a Hydrogen Breath Test (HBT) after administration of the mixture. Carbohydrate malabsorption occurred more frequently in children with kwashiorkor (28/58) than in those with marasmus (5/33), marasmic kwashiorkor (3/15) and healthy controls (8/34). The positive HBT appeared to be due to lactose malabsorption in at least two thirds of the children with kwashiorkor as it turned negative when the challenge was repeated with a lactosefree mixture.