How do the intestinal infections proceeding with the haemocolitis syndrome influence anthropometrical indicators of the nutritional status of children?

This article presents the results of a study of the nutritional status of children with acute intestinal infections (AII) occurring with hemocolitis syndrome. It was found that the nutritional status reflects the severity of the pathological process, and its dynamics allows to evaluate the effectiveness of therapy. The aim of the work was to study the changes in anthropometric indicators of nutritional status in the treatment of AII with hemocolitis syndrome in children. 50 patients with AII with hemocolitis syndrome aged from 5 months to 8 years were observed in an infectious hospital. Patients were divided by age: group 1 – breast age (n = 10), group 2 – early age (n = 27), group 3 – preschool age (n = 10), group 4 – school age (n = 3). The nutritional status of patients was studied in dynamics on the 1^st and 7^th day of inpatient treatment according. Analysis of research data was performed using Studentʼs t-test, U-Mann-Whitney test, Kruskal-Wallis criterion. The level and harmony of physical development of children in all groups at the time of admission to the hospital did not differ significantly. In the course of treatment, positive dynamics was noted in group 1 by the values of body mass index (BMI) (p = 0.05), Z-score BMI (p = 0.04), body weight deviation by height (in %) (p = 0.05); in group 2 – by the values of body weight by height (p = 0.05). Positive dynamics of nutrition indicators in group 1 was combined with a high frequency of diagnosis of unspecified forms of AII (60%). The negative dynamics of most indicators was observed in group 3, which was accompanied by a high frequency of diagnosis of refined (bacterial) etiological forms of AII (90%). The obtained data show that the dynamics of nutritional status of patients with AII with hemocolitis syndrome during therapy was more favorable in infants and young children and less favorable in preschool children, depended on the etiology of the disease and reflected its impact on metabolism.