Toddler's diarrhea: is it an under-recognized entity in developing countries?

As there is no report of toddler's diarrhea (TD) from the developing world, we have analyzed our experience of 191 children (<5 years) with chronic diarrhea over 7 years. Clinical details, investigations and outcome were retrieved and recorded in a proforma. TD was ascribed in those who had normal growth and no evidence of malabsorption or enteric infections. The etiology of chronic diarrhea was TD 16%, celiac disease (CD) 37%, cow's milk protein allergy (CMPA) 35% and others 12%. The mean age of 30 children with TD was 2.7 ± 1.2 years (22 boys). While comparing TD with CD and CMPA, weight z score (>-2.2) and hemoglobin (>10 or 10.9 g/dL for CD and CMPA, respectively) were independent variables to discriminate TD from CD and CMPA. TD is common in developing countries like India too. Anthropometry and hemoglobin can differentiate it from CD and CMPA.

Citation

Ujjal Poddar, Jaya Agarwal, Surender Kumar Yachha, Anshu Srivastava. Toddler's diarrhea: is it an under-recognized entity in developing countries? Journal of tropical pediatrics. 2013 Dec;59(6):470-5

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PMID: 23812015

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