Pattern of biochemical and immune recovery in protein calorie malnutrition
Parent, M.A.; Loening, W.E.; Coovadia, H.M.; Smythe, P.M.
South African Medical Journal 48(32): 1375-1378
1974
ISSN/ISBN: 0256-9574 PMID: 4217472 Document Number: 79063
There were 32 African children 8 months to 6 years old in a Durban hospital with protein-energy deficiency, treated with high-protein diet, vitamins and, when necessary, antibiotics. For survivors, most blood values became normal within 20 days and immunological indices by 30 days, though complete recovery would take much longer. The customary 1/5 dose of live, attenuated measles vaccine did not delay the return to normal of lymphocyte function, though the effect of the manufacturers' recommended dose cannot be inferred. Those who died had a high count of untransformed lymphocytes and Gram-negative septicaemia; only 2 of the 26 survivors had septicaemia. Severe infections were an important factor in failure to survive.