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Iron deficiency anaemia is still a global public health concern with the highest burden among children 6 to 23 months due to their rapid growth spurt exceeding breastmilk supply. Therefore, nutritional supply is a key source of iron to attain the required nutrients for better growth and development. This was a cross-sectional descriptive study done at Ishaka Adventist Hospital (IAH) and Kampala International University Teaching Hospital (KIUTH) from April to July 2022. Participants were consecutively enrolled in the study. Structured questionnaires, 24-hour dietary recall, and clinical assessment were used to obtain data. Data analysis was done using the statistical package for social scientists (SPSS) V22.0. Bivariable and multivariable analyses were done using logistic regression for associations with significance set at P value < 0.05. A total of 364 participants were enrolled, with the majority being males (198, 54.4%) and born at term (333, 91.5%). The modal age was 12-17 months [163(44.8%)] with a mean age of 14.1 months (SD 5.32). The overall prevalence of IDA was 151/364 (41.5%). The factors associated with IDA included male sex (aOR 1.61), current episode of diarrhoea (aOR 1.71), poor meal frequency (aOR 1.78), no vegetable consumption (aOR 2.47), and consuming fruits once (aOR 1.97) in 7 days preceding the study. The study finds a high prevalence of IDA among infants 6-23 months with at least four in 10 being affected. Screening for IDA should be recommended in male children with current diarrhoea, poor intake of fruits and vegetables, and poor meal frequency. The Mentzer index is an equally good alternative screening test for IDA.

Background. Malaria remains one of the leading health problems of the developing world, and acute kidney injury (AKI) is a well-recognized complication of severe malaria in adults; but the clinical importance of AKI in paediatric severe malaria is not well documented. Knowledge of the prevalence and factors associated with AKI among children with severe malaria is among the key strategies, which can help to reduce the burden of AKI among this vulnerable group. Methodology. A hospital-based prospective cross-sectional descriptive and analytic study of children with severe malaria was carried out at Kiryandongo General Hospital. The study involved 350 children with severe malaria attending the study site from August to October 2021. Questionnaires were administered to caretakers to obtain sociodemographic characteristics. Medical data were obtained through physical examination followed by laboratory tests. Blood samples were tested for creatinine and blood smear for malaria. Data were analyzed using binary logistic regression (bivariate and multivariate) to assess for the factors associated with AKI. A p value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results. The mean age of children with severe malaria was 7.0±3.8 years, and 54.3% of them were male. Of the 350 children enrolled, 167 had AKI, giving an overall AKI prevalence of 47.7% (95% CI: 42.5-53.0). The factors that were significantly associated with AKI among children with severe malaria included caretaker with no formal education (aOR=21.0, 95% CI: 1.68–261.18, p=0.018), caretaker with primary education level (aOR=4.5, 95% CI: 1.41–14.12, p=0.011), age of child

RESUMEN La lactancia materna es el acto natural y amoroso que más salud tributa a los niños desde su nacimiento. Con el objetivo de elevar conocimientos sobre lactancia materna y mejorar prácticas, se realizó un estudio de intervención cuasi experimental dirigido a futuras madres del Policlínico Jimmy Hirzel, Bayamo, 2005-2016. Universo: 1735 mujeres, muestra: 1343. Etapas de investigación: diagnóstico, diseño, validación, aplicación y evaluación. Variables estudiadas: dependientes (nivel de conocimiento y prácticas sobre lactancia materna) e independiente (estrategia educativa). Se utilizaron medidas de resumen: frecuencias absolutas y relativas, y la prueba de los rangos con signo de Wilcoxon para determinar la existencia de diferencias estadísticamente significativas antes y después de la estrategia, con nivel de significación del 5 %, calculado con auxilio de SPSS 22.0 para Windows. Inicialmente, predominó el bajo nivel de conocimiento (47,3 % en las embarazadas y 59,1 % en las de edad fértil); después de la intervención, destacó el nivel alto de conocimiento tanto en embarazadas (96,7 %) como en mujeres de edad fértil (90,1 %), con diferencias estadísticamente significativa (p= 0,0000). El 90,42 % de las madres ofreció a sus niños lactancia materna exclusiva hasta los 6 meses. Se demostró la efectividad de la estrategia educativa por el impacto logrado. ABSTRACT Breastfeeding is the natural and loving act that gives more health to children from birth. Aiming to raise awareness about breastfeeding and improve practices, a quasi-experimental intervention study was conducted for future mothers of the Polyclinic Jimmy Hirzel, Bayamo, 2005-2016. Population: 1735 women, Sample: 1343. Stages of research: diagnosis, design, validation, implementation and evaluation. Variables studied: dependent (level of knowledge and practices on breastfeeding) and independent (educational strategy). Summary measures were used: absolute and relative frequencies, and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test to determine the existence of statistically significant differences before and after the strategy, with a significance level of 5 %, calculated with the aid of SPSS 22.0 for Windows. Initially, the low level of knowledge predominated (47.3 % in pregnant women and 59.1 % in those of fertile age); after the intervention, highlighted the high level of knowledge in both pregnant women (96.7 %) and in women of childbearing age (90.1 %), with statistically significant differences (p = 0.0000); 90.42 % of the mothers offered their infants exclusive breastfeeding until 6 months. The effectiveness of the educational strategy was demonstrated by the impact achieved.

Se realizó estudio analítico de casos y testigos de 64 lactantes ingresados en la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos del Hospital Pediátrico "General Luis A. Milanés", de Bayamo en la provincia Granma, desde enero de 2007 hasta diciembre de 2011, a fin de identificar los factores de riesgo de la sepsis intrahospitalaria. Entre las principales variables seleccionadas figuraron: edad, sexo, estancia hospitalaria, hipoalbuminemia, duración de la lactancia materna exclusiva, enfermedad crónica asociada y uso de esteroides, entre otras. Se utilizaron las frecuencias absoluta y relativa para la caracterización de la muestra, así como el análisis univariado y multivariado para investigar los factores hipotéticos de riesgo. La alimentación parenteral central, la hipoalbuminemia menor de 30 g/L y la estancia hospitalaria mayor de 7 días resultaron ser los factores de riesgo predominantes.