A study of Cutaneous Manifestations in Children with Severe Acute Malnutrition

Background: The objective is to study the cutaneous manifestations in children with severe acute malnutrition. Material and Methods: The methodology used was cross sectional hospital-based study in Kodagu Institute of Medical Sciences, Madikeri, India in the Department of Paediatrics. There were 150 children aged 6 months - 5 years with a diagnosis of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) as per the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. All patients were thoroughly clinically and dermatologically reevaluated after informed consent was obtained to ascertain the presence of blotchy, skin lesions. The data collected were analysed at SPSS version 26 and presented in the form of frequency and percentage. Results: A total of 150 children participated in this study, among them, 108 (72%) had 1 or more cutaneous manifestation. The most common finding (occurring in 91 or 61% of children) was lustreless hair followed by the presence of dry skin (63 or 42%), hyperpigmented patches (27 or 18%), pyoderma (22 or 13%), and angular stomatitis (15 or 10%). The remaining children had 4 cases (2.7%) of scabies, or uncommon findings of phrynoderma, flaky paint dermatosis or periorificial erosions. Conclusion: Children in the severity of SAM have a high prevalence of cutaneous manifestations which are important clinical signs of underlying nutritional deficiency. Appropriate medical treatment, adequate nutrition combined with early diagnosis and recognition of these dermatological signs may help to enhance patient outcomes and limit the complications associated with the disease.

Keywords: Protein-energy malnutrition, children, nutritional dermatoses, cutaneous manifestations, severe acute malnutrition.