Radiological insights into pediatric undernutrition: Early detection, complications, and a structured evaluation approach.

Abstract

Despite a decade of significant growth in economic conditions of South Asian countries, people continue to suffer from the pervading problem of malnutrition. High prevalence of child undernutrition despite unprecedented economic growth in these nations have a multifactorial etiology including fetal malnutrition and status of women, inadequate feeding practices in infant and young child, poor household sanitation and untargeted health schemes. The diagnosis and management of malnutrition and its various complications require a multidisciplinary approach and radiologists have a potentially important, albeit currently underutilized, role in early detection, identifying the other clinical mimics such as endocrinal and genetic disorders, and detection of key complications. In this review, we apprise the radiological aspects of PEM and micro-nutritional deficiency and their complications. We also provide a comprehensive structured evaluation scheme for evaluation of a suspected malnourished child.