Iron deficiency anaemia in infancy and early childhood.
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Anemia, Iron-Deficiency↗
Biomedical subjects
M A Aukett
Publications and source records attributed to M A Aukett.
Mildly anaemic toddlers respond to iron.
Thirty eight children with a haemoglobin concentration of 106-110 g/l were given either oral iron (n = 17) or placebo (n = 21) for two months. The treated group achieved a significantly higher rise in haemoglobin concentration; in a quarter it was greater than 20 g/l. While those with the lower mean corpuscular volume and ferritin showed greater rises in haemoglobin these indices were of little value in predicting response in an individual child.
Administration, Oral↗
Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus in milk.
Three separate outbreaks of gentamicin and methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a special care baby unit are described. The outbreaks ceased only after a milk bank worker was identified as a carrier of the strain. It is postulated that the infant milk feeds served as a vehicle of spread.
Animals↗
Treatment with iron increases weight gain and psychomotor development.
Previous work at this hospital and elsewhere has shown that anaemia in toddlers is common and is associated with psychomotor delay. It seemed unclear, however, whether this association was cause and effect or merely due to the same underprivileged environment. A double blind randomised intervention study was, therefore, performed. After an initial assessment 97 children with anaemia (haemoglobin 8-11 g/dl) aged 17-19 months received either iron and vitamin C or vitamin C only (control group) for two months and were then reassessed. The children who received the iron had an increased rate of weight gain and more of them achieved the expected rate of development. While iron deficiency anaemia is unlikely to be the only factor in the slower development of children living in underprivileged circumstances, it can at least be easily identified and treated. Routine child health surveillance in such areas should include a haemoglobin determination.
Anemia, Hypochromic↗