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Biomedical subjects

A S Gastañaduy

Publications and source records attributed to A S Gastañaduy.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

Acute gastroenteritis.

Acute gastroenteritis represents a frequent cause of morbidity and mortality among children in the developing world as well as morbidity in the developed world. Despite the large number of potential etiologic agents, management of gastroenteritis is uniform and aimed to prevent the two major complications, dehydration and malnutrition. Current guidelines emphasize the use of oral rehydration and the early reintroduction of age-appropriate foods. These guidelines are reviewed here, the underlying principles discussed, and practical points provided.

Acute Disease↗

Clinical trial of modified whole milk, lactose-hydrolyzed whole milk, or cereal-milk mixtures for the dietary management of acute childhood diarrhea.

A randomized, double-masked clinical trial was completed to compare the effects of four dietary regimens for the nutritional management of 116 Peruvian children between 3 and 24 months of age with acute diarrhea. Diets consisted of a modified whole milk formula (group M), a lactose-hydrolyzed milk formula (HM), wheat noodles and whole milk (N-M), or wheat noodles and lactose-hydrolyzed whole milk (N-HM), all offered in amounts up to 55 kcal/kg body weight/day for the first 2 days of treatment and up to 110 kcal/kg/day for 4 days thereafter. The clinical characteristics of the patients in each group were similar initially. Treatment failure rates in the two milk groups combined (M = 14.3%, HM = 20.0%) were greater than in the two noodle-milk groups combined (N-M = 3.4%, N-HM = 3.4%), p = 0.03. The average stool outputs by children in both M groups (range 40-66 g/kg body weight per day on all study days) were consistently greater than those by children in both N-M groups (range 29-50 g/kg/day). The differences by dietary group were statistically significant on days 3 and 4 (p less than 0.04, analysis of variance). The estimated median durations of illness [and 95% confidence limits (CL)] in each milk group (M = 138 h, CL: 88-214; HM = 113 h, CL: 75-170) were significantly greater than in each noodle-milk group (N-M = 52 h, CL: 35-76; N-HM = 67 h, CL: 45-100), p less than 0.001-0.071. In this group of patients, noodle-milk mixtures produced fewer treatment failures, lower fecal outputs, and shorter durations of diarrhea than did milk alone, regardless of the lactose contents of the respective milks or mixed diets. Small differences in intestinal absorption and changes in body weight by dietary group that were identified were of minor clinical importance during the short duration of study. Thus, the noodle-milk diets employed during this study were safer than the milk diets for the dietary management of children with acute diarrhea.

Acute Disease↗

Prediction of total daily fecal excretion during acute childhood diarrhea.

Clinical data from 133 male patients between 3 and 36 months of age were reviewed to identify factors that could predict high rates of fecal excretion during acute diarrhea. Diarrheal severity after hospitalization was measured by separate 4-h quantitative collections of feces during 6 days: the number of these 4-h collection periods with any stool output was used as an estimate of the number of bowel movements each day. The number of 4-h periods with any stool output was highly correlated with total fecal excretion expressed as grams per kilogram of body weight per day (p less than 0.001). The age of the patient, type of diarrhea, and type of diet had little effect on the relationship between stool "number" and amount. The number of bowel movements, as estimated during this study, was a highly sensitive (greater than 90%) and reasonably specific (greater than 70%) predictor of children at risk of high fecal excretion rates (greater than 50 g/kg/day or greater than 100 g/kg/day) during acute diarrhea.

Acute Disease↗

Effect of continued oral feeding on clinical and nutritional outcomes of acute diarrhea in children.

One hundred twenty-eight nonmalnourished male patients between 3 and 36 months of age were randomly assigned to receive one of four lactose-free dietary treatments to determine the effect of dietary therapy on the severity and nutritional outcome of diarrheal illness. Group 1 received a formula diet composed of casein, sucrose, dextrin with maltose (Dextri-Maltose), and vegetable oil to provide 110 kcal/kg body weight/d (CSO-110). Group 2 received CSO to provide 55 kcal/kg/d (CSO-55) for 2 days and then CSO-110. Group 3 received only oral glucose-electrolyte solution (GES) for 2 days, CSO-55 for the next 2 days, and then CSO-110. Group 4 received the same diets as Group 3 except that only intravenous GES was used for the first 2 days. The GES maintenance solutions provided 24 to 30 kcal/kg/d. Therapeutic success rates were similar among dietary groups, ranging from 90% to 97%. Fecal excretion was initially lower in group 4 (P less than 0.05) but was similar initially among groups treated orally and among all four groups beginning on day 3. Net apparent absorption of nitrogen, fat, carbohydrate, and total energy; retention of nitrogen; and increments in body weight, arm circumference, and skin-fold thickness were positively related to the amounts of dietary energy consumed. Thus continued oral feeding with the CSO diets during the early phase of therapy yielded improved nutritional results.

Absorption↗