DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2021.v09i06.003

Pages: 763-778

Rickets occurs when growing bones fail to mineralize. In most cases, the diagnosis is done basing on clinical examination, laboratory testing and radiological imaging. Aims: this study aimed to investigate demographic and clinical profile of children diagnosed with Rickets and to assess the treatment outcome. Subjects and method: a comparative follow-up observational survey was conducted by collecting the data from a sample at two points of time, prior to treatment and 6 months after treatment, the sample was purposive, contact details of mothers of the children were kept to assure the 2nd meeting of data collection. Results: a sample of 153 child was studied, more than 97% of them aged between 1-2 years with mean age of 13.6 months (± 5.99), 53% of them males, 94.8 from Benghazi.62% were early weaned and 58.8 % eat family diet. At presentation the children were found to have delayed walking (17%), failure to thrive (15.7%), lethargy (13.7%), delayed teething (10.5%), rachitic rosary were present in more than 94%. Radiological signs were Osteopenia and cupping in 44.4 % and 18.3 % respectively. Calcium level was ranging between 8-11mg/dl in 99.3% of the cases, alkaline phosphatase is elevated in 43.8%, about 80% have variable degree of vitamin D deficiency, mothers of about 44% of the study sample have vitamin D deficiency, and about 21% reported past history of vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D supplement was given either orally in 66%, or via parenteral route in 34% both of them produced very significant improvement (t-test= -11.635, P <0.01). Conclusion: The vast majority of the studied children aged one to two years, a large part of them were subjected to inappropriate early weaning, in addition to that a great portion is consuming family diet which does not contain the recommended requirement of calcium and vitamin D of a growing child, the dramatic improvement in the symptoms post treatment, and presence of maternal history of vitamin D deficiency support......