Abstract
Background: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in children and infants is a common nutritional problem all over the world. Infants and young children have a high risk for developing iron deficiency (ID) because they have high demand for iron during the period of rapid growth. This is aggravated by the insufficiency of iron in their diet. Iron supplementation programs using pediatric tablets or drops have not been successful in the control of anemia amongst infants and children in some countries. “Sprinkles” is an innovative multi-micronutrient home fortification strategy to control iron deficiency and anemia to be more useful. Objective: The objective was to estimate the prevalence ID and IDA in infants and children in Ibb City, Yemen Republic; evaluate the use of a new form of iron and determine the hematologic response to different doses and forms of iron in Sprinkles and iron drops. Design: Using a prospective, randomized, controlled design, we studied 337 randomly children aged 24 - 48 months and infants aged 6 - 24 months in Ibb City (hemoglobin: 70 - 99 g/L). One group received a daily sachet of microencapsulated ferrous fumarate (80 mg elemental Fe) in powder form plus ascorbic acid to be sprinkled onto any complementary food eaten (sprinkles group); a control group received ferrous sulfate drops 3 times/d for 2 months (total dose: 40 mg elemental Fe). Hemoglobin and serum ferritin concentrations were measured at baseline and at the end of treatment. Results: Successful treatment of anemia (hemoglobin > 100 g/L) occurred in 58% of the sprinkles group and in 56% of the drops group, with minimal side effects in both groups. Geometric mean ferritin concentrations increased significantly in each group from baseline to the end of treatment (P Conclusion: Use of ferrous sulfate drops or a single daily dose of microencapsulated ferrous fumarate sprinkles plus ascorbicacid resulted in a similar rate of successful treatment of anemia without side effects. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of the use of microencapsulated iron sprinkles to treat anemia in this area. Improved ease of use may favor the use of sprinkles to deliver iron.
Highlights
Iron deficiency anemia is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and affects up to two-thirds of children in most developing countries [1]
The results in this study showed that the infants more infected by Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) than children’s
The value in prevalence of iron deficiency anemia it was taken according to third parameter criteria was used Hb level, MCV, ferritin or serum iron including Hct and blood film smear if microcytichypocromic (Figure 1) or macrocytichypochromic (Figure 2)
Summary
Iron deficiency anemia is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and affects up to two-thirds of children in most developing countries [1]. One is instructed to sprinkle the entire contents onto whatever food is being served in the household In this prospective, randomized, controlled trial, we tested the hypothesis that the response to treatment of anemia would be better with 2 months of treatment with microencapsulated ferrous fumarate sachets daily than that with ferrous sulfate drops provided 3 times/d [13]. The objective in this study aimed to evaluate the use of a new form of iron and determine the hematologic response to different doses and forms of iron in Sprinkles and iron drops. Objective: The objective was to estimate the prevalence ID and IDA in infants and children in Ibb City, Yemen Republic; evaluate the use of a new form of iron and determine the hematologic response to different doses and forms of iron in Sprinkles and iron drops. One group received a daily sachet of microencapsulated ferrous fumarate (80 mg elemental Fe) in powder form plus ascorbic acid to be sprinkled onto any complementary food eaten (sprinkles group); a control group received ferrous sulfate drops 3 times/d for 2 months
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
