Hematological Changes in Protein Calorie Malnutrition

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the clinical description of the anemia of protein calorie malnutrition (PCM). PCM of various degrees is the most prevalent disease of nutritional deficiency in the world. It affects primarily the young child, although older children and adults of both sexes are not spared. PCM remains one of the major killers in children even when treated in the hospital. Pallor and anemia are among the chief signs of PCM. The present understanding of the anemia of protein calorie malnutrition in children stems from clinical observation, human experimental work, and animal research. The hematological changes observed in children with severe protein calorie malnutrition are primarily an adaptation phenomenon to decrease lean body mass to which various deficiencies and disease states could add their own characteristic changes. The hematological alterations in protein calorie malnutrition must be viewed as a dynamic phenomenon of balance between body composition and the erythron.