Dermatosis in children with oedematous malnutrition (Kwashiorkor): a review of the literature

Dermatological changes in a prospective cohort of acutely ill, hospitalised Malawian children, stratified according to nutritional status

RATIONALE

Since the first documentation of skin changes in malnutrition in the early 18th century, various hair and skin changes have been reported in severely malnourished children globally. We aimed to describe the frequency and types of skin conditions in children admitted with acute illness to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre, Malawi across a spectrum of nutritional status and validate an existing skin assessment tool.

METHODS

Children between 1 week and 23 months of age with acute illness were enrolled and stratified by anthropometry. Standardised photographs were taken, and three dermatologists assessed skin changes and scored each child according to the SCORDoK tool.

RESULTS

Among 103 children, median age of 12 months, 31 (30%) had severe wasting, 11 (11%) kwashiorkor (nutritional oedema), 20 (19%) had moderate wasting, 41 (40%) had no nutritional wasting and 18 (17%) a positive HIV antibody test. Six (5.8%) of the included patients died. 51 (50%) of children presented with at least one skin change. Pigmentary changes were the most common, observed in 35 (34%), with hair loss and bullae, erosions and desquamation the second most prevalent skin condition. Common diagnoses were congenital dermal melanocytosis, diaper dermatitis, eczema and postinflammatory hyperpigmentation. Severe skin changes like flaky paint dermatosis were rarely identified. Inter-rater variability calculations showed only fair agreement (overall Fleiss' kappa 0.25) while intrarater variability had a fair-moderate agreement (Cohen's kappa score of 0.47-0.58).

DISCUSSION

Skin changes in hospitalised children with an acute illness and stratified according to nutritional status were not as prevalent as historically reported. Dermatological assessment by means of the SKORDoK tool using photographs is less reliable than expected.

Inflammation: the driver of poor outcomes among children with severe acute malnutrition?

Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is the most life-threatening form of undernutrition and underlies at least 10% of all deaths among children younger than 5 years in low-income countries. SAM is a complex, multisystem disease, with physiological perturbations observed in conjunction with the loss of lean mass, including structural and functional changes in many organ systems. Despite the high mortality burden, predominantly due to infections, the underlying pathogenic pathways remain poorly understood. Intestinal and systemic inflammation is heightened in children with SAM. Chronic inflammation and its consequent immunomodulation may explain the increased morbidity and mortality from infections in children with SAM, both during hospitalization and in the longer term after discharge. Recognition of the role of inflammation in SAM is critical in considering new therapeutic targets in this disease, which has not seen a transformational approach to treatment for several decades. This review highlights the central role of inflammation in the wide-ranging pathophysiology of SAM, as well as identifying potential interventions that have biological plausibility based on evidence from other inflammatory syndromes.

Skin microbiota analysis in patients with anorexia nervosa and healthy-weight controls reveals microbial indicators of healthy weight and associations with the antimicrobial peptide psoriasin

Anorexia nervosa (AN), a psychiatric condition defined by low body weight for age and height, is associated with numerous dermatological conditions. Yet, clinical observations report that patients with AN do not suffer from infectious skin diseases like those associated with primary malnutrition. Cell-mediated immunity appears to be amplified in AN; however, this proinflammatory state does not sufficiently explain the lower incidence of infections. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are important components of the innate immune system protecting from pathogens and shaping the microbiota. In Drosophila melanogaster starvation precedes increased AMP gene expression. Here, we analyzed skin microbiota in patients with AN and age-matched, healthy-weight controls and investigated the influence of weight gain on microbial community structure. We then correlated features of the skin microbial community with psoriasin and RNase 7, two highly abundant AMPs in human skin, to clarify whether an association between AMPs and skin microbiota exists and whether such a relationship might contribute to the resistance to cutaneous infections observed in AN. We find significant statistical correlations between Shannon diversity and the highly abundant skin AMP psoriasin and bacterial load, respectively. Moreover, we reveal psoriasin significantly associates with Abiotrophia, an indicator for the healthy-weight control group. Additionally, we observe a significant correlation between an individual's body mass index and Lactobacillus, a microbial indicator of health. Future investigation may help clarify physiological mechanisms that link nutritional intake with skin physiology.

The Evaluation and Management of Macronutrient Deficiency Dermatoses

In industrialized countries, nutritional dermatoses are likely underdiagnosed and result in increased disease morbidity and utilization of hospital resources. These findings underscore the need for physicians to be able to correctly identify these deficiencies. Nutritional dermatoses may be split into micronutrient deficiencies and macronutrient deficiencies. This article is intended to serve as a supplement to a two-part review of micronutrient deficiency dermatoses and highlights cutaneous findings in patients with protein-energy malnutrition and essential fatty acid deficiency. This article reviews the evaluation, cutaneous manifestations, and management of macronutrient deficiencies.

One-carbon metabolism in children with marasmus and kwashiorkor

BACKGROUND

Kwashiorkor is a childhood syndrome of edematous malnutrition. Its precise nutritional precipitants remain uncertain despite nine decades of study. Remarkably, kwashiorkor's disturbances resemble the effects of experimental diets that are deficient in one-carbon nutrients. This similarity suggests that kwashiorkor may represent a nutritionally mediated syndrome of acute one-carbon metabolism dysfunction. Here we report findings from a cross-sectional exploration of serum one-carbon metabolites in Malawian children.

METHODS

Blood was collected from children aged 12-60 months before nutritional rehabilitation: kwashiorkor (N = 94), marasmic-kwashiorkor (N = 43) marasmus (N = 118), moderate acute malnutrition (N = 56) and controls (N = 46). Serum concentrations of 16 one-carbon metabolites were quantified using LC/MS techniques, and then compared across participant groups.

FINDINGS

Twelve of 16 measured one-carbon metabolites differed significantly between participant groups. Measured outputs of one-carbon metabolism, asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and cysteine, were lower in marasmic-kwashiorkor (median µmol/L (± SD): 0·549 (± 0·217) P = 0·00045 & 90 (± 40) P < 0·0001, respectively) and kwashiorkor (0·557 (± 0·195) P < 0·0001 & 115 (± 50) P < 0·0001), relative to marasmus (0·698 (± 0·212) & 153 (± 42)). ADMA and cysteine were well correlated with methionine in both kwashiorkor and marasmic-kwashiorkor.

INTERPRETATION

Kwashiorkor and marasmic-kwashiorkor were distinguished by evidence of one-carbon metabolism dysfunction. Correlative observations suggest that methionine deficiency drives this dysfunction, which is implicated in the syndrome's pathogenesis. The hypothesis that kwashiorkor can be prevented by fortifying low quality diets with methionine, along with nutrients that support efficient methionine use, such as choline, requires further investigation.

FUNDING

The Hickey Family Foundation, the American College of Gastroenterology, the NICHD, and the USDA/ARS.

Climate change, women's workload in smallholder agriculture, and embodied political ecologies of undernutrition in northern Ghana

The burden of child undernutrition across Africa remains extraordinarily high. Among children under age five, chronic and acute undernutrition is responsible for more ill-health than any other cause. While climate change exacerbates the multiple burdens of undernutrition, we know very little about the embodied effects on women's workload in agriculture and implications for feeding practices, especially for infants whose nutrition depends on mothers' time. In this article, political ecologies of health, with its nested, place-based analysis, is used as a framework to address this knowledge gap. The study took place in Ghana's Upper West Region, a semi-arid and resource-poor setting with higher undernutrition rates. In-depth interviews were conducted with smallholder farmers (n = 33) whose infants have sub-optimal growth, and key informants (n = 7) with expertise in nutrition and health. Findings from the study demonstrate how climate change puts pressure on women's productive time, leading to poor child feeding practices and undernutrition. Ultimately, the article argues that there are hidden impacts of climate change on undernutrition. Global undernutrition interventions should therefore move beyond biomedical solutions to address these hidden impacts, some of which are social, gendered, and structural in nature.

Acute severe malnutrition treatment outcomes in children ages 6-59 months admitted to Singa Hospital, Sudan

BACKGROUND

Acute malnutrition threatens the lives of 50.5 million children <5 y of age. Consequences of malnutrition include death, among other short-term sequelae. This study was conducted from April to October 2018 to determine the outcomes of children 6-59 months of age with acute severe malnutrition admitted to Singa Hospital in central Sudan.

METHODS

Clinical information for children with a mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) <115 mm were collected. We measured children's weight and height and calculated weight-for-height z-scores. Treatment was offered according to World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Outcomes were recorded as recovered, discharged against medical advice or died.

RESULTS

This study included 376 malnourished children. The median age was 18 months (interquartile range [IQR] 12-24). The male:female ratio was 1:1. Among children with weight-for-height Z-scores of -4 and -3, 103 (27.3%) had oedematous malnutrition. There were 131 (34.8%) children with malaria parasites, 33 (8.7%) with pyuria and 24 (6.3%) with intestinal parasites. The recovery rate was 89.1%. The case fatality rate was 3.7%. Mortality was significantly increased with diarrhoea and dermatoses. There were no significant differences in the median of age (17.5 months [IQR 6-24] vs 18 [6-24], p = 0.595), MUAC (110 mm [IQR 104-111] vs 110 [100-111], p = 0.741) or sex (p = 0.991) between children who died and those who recovered.

CONCLUSIONS

The case fatality rate was 3.7% and it was associated with diarrhoea and dermatoses.

Nutritional Treatment of a Young Infant with Cystic Fibrosis Presenting with Severe Kwashiorkor Dermatosis

Kwashiorkor in infancy is typically associated to an underlying disease. Edema, a striking feature of this type of malnutrition, can be difficult to assess in this age group. The typical dermatosis of Kwashiorkor is not fully explained the deficiency of one isolated vitamin or micronutrient. This article presents an infant with cystic fibrosis, who developed Kwashiorkor in the third month of life with extensive cutaneous manifestations. An early, individualized and aggressive nutritional intervention with optimized supplementationof sulfur amino acids, vitamins and micronutrients was established, with impressively recovery of overall nutrition and skin manifestations in a relatively short period of time.

Failure to Thrive in the Context of Carney Complex

BACKGROUND/AIMS

Carney complex (CNC) is a rare syndrome associated with multiple tumors and several other unique manifestations. We describe the clinical, genetic, and laboratory findings in a cohort of patients with CNC and failure to thrive (FTT).

METHODS

A retrospective case series of pediatric patients with CNC presenting with FTT.

RESULTS

We describe a patient with infantile Cushing syndrome (CS) who presented with severe FTT and liver disease; the patient was subsequently diagnosed with CNC. This led to the realization that at least 10 other patients with CNC and FTT have been investigated in the last 22 years at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Four of those had primary pigmented nodular adrenocortical disease (PPNAD), 2 had cardiac myxomas, and 3 had liver disease.

CONCLUSION

Pediatric patients with CNC may present with FTT whose primary cause is variable and includes CS due to PPNAD, hepatic involvement, and other manifestations of CNC. FTT due to liver disease and/or other causes is a unique new presentation of this rare syndrome with which clinicians need to be familiar.

The Regulation of Essential Amino Acid Synthesis and Accumulation in Plants

Although amino acids are critical for all forms of life, only proteogenic amino acids that humans and animals cannot synthesize de novo and therefore must acquire in their diets are classified as essential. Nine amino acids-lysine, methionine, threonine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, valine, isoleucine, leucine, and histidine-fit this definition. Despite their nutritional importance, several of these amino acids are present in limiting quantities in many of the world's major crops. In recent years, a combination of reverse genetic and biochemical approaches has been used to define the genes encoding the enzymes responsible for synthesizing, degrading, and regulating these amino acids. In this review, we describe recent advances in our understanding of the metabolism of the essential amino acids, discuss approaches for enhancing their levels in plants, and appraise efforts toward their biofortification in crop plants.

Characterization and scoring of skin changes in severe acute malnutrition in children between 6 months and 5 years of age

BACKGROUND

Severe acute malnutrition is a life-threatening condition. It can be associated with severe skin changes, first properly described by Williams in 1933. The aetiology of these skin changes is still unknown and their character has never been systematically described in dermatological terms. The skin changes have been shown to be a predictor of mortality in hospital care. Systematic investigations on the character of the skin changes that have effect on prognosis, are needed to investigate which of the skin changes that are relevant to improve treatment.

OBJECTIVES

Our main objective was to identify the skin changes characteristic of children with severe acute malnutrition and to develop a clinical score that describes the morphology and severity in dermatological terms. We also investigated if any of the different skin changes were connected to prognosis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

At Mulago Hospital, Mwanamugimu (Department of Paediatrics and Child Health), Uganda, 120 children were included over a period of six months and observed when treated for severe acute malnutrition. Skin changes were registered through clinical examination and photo documentation and associated to prognosis using Cox and logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS

Skin manifestations were characterized by five objective skin signs: telogenic effluvium, pigmentary changes (hyper- and hypo-pigmentation), ichthyosiform skin changes, lichenoid skin changes and bullae-erosion-desquamation. The skin changes could be registered in a systematic manner using our simple clinical score. Lichenoid skin changes were a significant predictor of death and allowed improved accuracy of prediction of mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

The clinical score is simple and practical. A standardized way to register and score the skin changes, will allow a more unified way of reporting results in future studies. The standardization of observations, obtained through the proposed scoring system, will enable comparison of study results in the future.

[Leucoderma in children: Review of the literature]

BACKGROUND

Leucoderma is a frequent presenting complaint in children and it is sometimes difficult to make a definite diagnostic during the first consultation. The aim of this study is to analyse the diagnoses associated with leucoderma in children in order to propose a practical approach to their differential diagnosis.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We performed a review of the literature using the keywords "leucoderma children review", "leucoderma Ito" and "nevus depigmentosus" in the Medline database. All relevant articles were included.

RESULTS

Four hundred and thirty-five articles were retrieved and 179 were analysed. A clinical approach was proposed in 6 articles and investigations in 15 articles.

DISCUSSION

Causal diagnosis of leucoderma may frequently be made on clinical grounds by determining the age of onset and distribution of lesions. Nevertheless, some situations require investigation. The literature is limited regarding clinical approaches and examinations in leucoderma. Herein, we present a systematic clinical and laboratory approach to the differential diagnosis of these skin disorders.

Management of severe acute malnutrition in low-income and middle-income countries

Kwashiorkor and marasmus, collectively termed severe acute malnutrition (SAM), account for at least 10% of all deaths among children under 5 years of age worldwide, virtually all of them in low-income and middle-income countries. A number of risk factors, including seasonal food insecurity, environmental enteropathy, poor complementary feeding practices, and chronic and acute infections, contribute to the development of SAM. Careful anthropometry is key to making an accurate diagnosis of SAM and can be performed by village health workers or even laypeople in rural areas. The majority of children can be treated at home with ready-to-use therapeutic food under the community-based management of acute malnutrition model with recovery rates of approximately 90% under optimal conditions. A small percentage of children, often those with HIV, tuberculosis or other comorbidities, will still require inpatient therapy using fortified milk-based foods.

The immune system in children with malnutrition--a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Malnourished children have increased risk of dying, with most deaths caused by infectious diseases. One mechanism behind this may be impaired immune function. However, this immune deficiency of malnutrition has not previously been systematically reviewed.

OBJECTIVES

To review the scientific literature about immune function in children with malnutrition.

METHODS

A systematic literature search was done in PubMed, and additional articles identified in reference lists and by correspondence with experts in the field. The inclusion criteria were studies investigating immune parameters in children aged 1-60 months, in relation to malnutrition, defined as wasting, underweight, stunting, or oedematous malnutrition.

RESULTS

The literature search yielded 3402 articles, of which 245 met the inclusion criteria. Most were published between 1970 and 1990, and only 33 after 2003. Malnutrition is associated with impaired gut-barrier function, reduced exocrine secretion of protective substances, and low levels of plasma complement. Lymphatic tissue, particularly the thymus, undergoes atrophy, and delayed-type hypersensitivity responses are reduced. Levels of antibodies produced after vaccination are reduced in severely malnourished children, but intact in moderate malnutrition. Cytokine patterns are skewed towards a Th2-response. Other immune parameters seem intact or elevated: leukocyte and lymphocyte counts are unaffected, and levels of immunoglobulins, particularly immunoglobulin A, are high. The acute phase response appears intact, and sometimes present in the absence of clinical infection. Limitations to the studies include their observational and often cross-sectional design and frequent confounding by infections in the children studied.

CONCLUSION

The immunological alterations associated with malnutrition in children may contribute to increased mortality. However, the underlying mechanisms are still inadequately understood, as well as why different types of malnutrition are associated with different immunological alterations. Better designed prospective studies are needed, based on current understanding of immunology and with state-of-the-art methods.