OBJECTIVES: To examine the iron status of malnourished children by comparing bone marrow iron deposits in children with protein energy malnutrition with those in well-nourished controls, and measuring chelatable urinary iron excretion in children with kwashiorkor. DESIGN: Bone marrow iron was assessed histologically in postmortem specimens from children with kwashiorkor or marasmus, and from controls. Twenty-four-hour urinary iron was measured in children with severe kwashiorkor, half of whom received 10 mg/kg of intramuscular desferrioxamine (DFO) on admission. SETTING: Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, Cape Town. SUBJECTS: Thirteen children with kwashiorkor, 6 with marasmus and 16 well-nourished children underwent bone marrow examination. Urinary iron excretion was assayed in 17 children with kwashiorkor. RESULTS: Stainable iron was present in the bone marrow of half the children with kwashiorkor but in only 1 child in each of the other groups. The median iron excretion was 945.5 micrograms/24 hours in the DFO group compared with 28.5 micrograms/24 hours in the non-DFO group. CONCLUSIONS: There is an apparent excess of iron which may predispose to bacterial infections and free radical-mediated injury in children with kwashiorkor.
OBJECTIVES: To examine the iron status of malnourished children by comparing bone marrow iron deposits in children with protein energy malnutrition with those in well-nourished controls, and measuring chelatable urinary iron excretion in children with kwashiorkor. DESIGN: Bone marrow iron was assessed histologically in postmortem specimens from children with kwashiorkor or marasmus, and from controls. Twenty-four-hour urinary iron was measured in children with severe kwashiorkor, half of whom received 10 mg/kg of intramuscular desferrioxamine (DFO) on admission. SETTING: Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, Cape Town. SUBJECTS: Thirteen children with kwashiorkor, 6 with marasmus and 16 well-nourished children underwent bone marrow examination. Urinary iron excretion was assayed in 17 children with kwashiorkor. RESULTS: Stainable iron was present in the bone marrow of half the children with kwashiorkor but in only 1 child in each of the other groups. The median iron excretion was 945.5 micrograms/24 hours in the DFO group compared with 28.5 micrograms/24 hours in the non-DFO group. CONCLUSIONS: There is an apparent excess of iron which may predispose to bacterial infections and free radical-mediated injury in children with kwashiorkor.