Pediatric Formulas: An Update.

The recent shortage of pediatric formulas in the United States, caused by supply chain issues and contamination of formula products in 1 of the major manufacturing plants, led many families to seek an alternate formula for their children. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowed import of infant formulas from selected European and non-European countries. The European infant formulas differ from those produced in the United States regarding the primary source of the formula, age category, mixing instructions, labeling requirements, and formula composition in terms of macronutrients and micronutrients. Although most European infant formulas are nutritionally adequate, pediatricians and families need to be aware of the differences between the European and FDA-regulated formulas for their correct use and preparation for infants and young children. Supplementation with cow milk is recommended for children beyond infancy, and older infant formulas are not recommended for otherwise healthy growing children. However, pediatric formulas have been used to support the nutrition needs of children with feeding difficulties, especially those dependent on tube feeding and with certain medical conditions. The FDA does not regulate the production of pediatric formulas beyond infant formula, and significant variations exist in their composition. The pediatric formulas are available as polymeric (intact), hydrolyzed, elemental, or food-based blenderized formulas. The plant-based nonformula (milk) drinks are being used increasingly for children. These products might not be nutritionally complete and should be avoided in infants and children dependent on liquid nutrition.

Zinc supplementation for preventing mortality, morbidity, and growth failure in children aged 6 months to 12 years.

BACKGROUND: Zinc deficiency is prevalent in low- and middle-income countries, and is considered a significant risk factor for morbidity, mortality, and linear growth failure. The effectiveness of preventive zinc supplementation in reducing prevalence of zinc deficiency needs to be assessed. OBJECTIVES: To assess the effects of zinc supplementation for preventing mortality and morbidity, and for promoting growth, in children aged 6 months to 12 years. SEARCH METHODS: A previous version of this review was published in 2014. In this update, we searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, five other databases, and one trials register up to February 2022, together with reference checking and contact with study authors to identify additional studies. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of preventive zinc supplementation in children aged 6 months to 12 years compared with no intervention, a placebo, or a waiting list control. We excluded hospitalized children and children with chronic diseases or conditions. We excluded food fortification or intake, sprinkles, and therapeutic interventions. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors screened studies, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias. We contacted study authors for missing information and used GRADE to assess the certainty of evidence. The primary outcomes of this review were all-cause mortality; and cause-specific mortality, due to all-cause diarrhea, lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI, including pneumonia), and malaria. We also collected information on a number of secondary outcomes, such as those related to diarrhea and LRTI morbidity, growth outcomes and serum levels of micronutrients, and adverse events. MAIN RESULTS: We included 16 new studies in this review, resulting in a total of 96 RCTs with 219,584 eligible participants. The included studies were conducted in 34 countries; 87 of them in low- or middle-income countries. Most of the children included in this review were under five years of age. The intervention was delivered most commonly in the form of syrup as zinc sulfate, and the most common dose was between 10 mg and 15 mg daily. The median duration of follow-up was 26 weeks. We did not consider that the evidence for the key analyses of morbidity and mortality outcomes was affected by risk of bias. High-certainty evidence showed little to no difference in all-cause mortality with preventive zinc supplementation compared to no zinc (risk ratio (RR) 0.93, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.84 to 1.03; 16 studies, 17 comparisons, 143,474 participants). Moderate-certainty evidence showed that preventive zinc supplementation compared to no zinc likely results in little to no difference in mortality due to all-cause diarrhea (RR 0.95, 95% CI 0.69 to 1.31; 4 studies, 132,321 participants); but probably reduces mortality due to LRTI (RR 0.86, 95% CI 0.64 to 1.15; 3 studies, 132,063 participants) and mortality due to malaria (RR 0.90, 95% CI 0.77 to 1.06; 2 studies, 42,818 participants); however, the confidence intervals around the summary estimates for these outcomes were wide, and we could not rule out a possibility of increased risk of mortality. Preventive zinc supplementation likely reduces the incidence of all-cause diarrhea (RR 0.91, 95% CI 0.90 to 0.93; 39 studies, 19,468 participants; moderate-certainty evidence) but results in little to no difference in morbidity due to LRTI (RR 1.01, 95% CI 0.95 to 1.08; 19 studies, 10,555 participants; high-certainty evidence) compared to no zinc. There was moderate-certainty evidence that preventive zinc supplementation likely leads to a slight increase in height (standardized mean difference (SMD) 0.12, 95% CI 0.09 to 0.14; 74 studies, 20,720 participants). Zinc supplementation was associated with an increase in the number of participants with at least one vomiting episode (RR 1.29, 95% CI 1.14 to 1.46; 5 studies, 35,192 participants; high-certainty evidence). We report a number of other outcomes, including the effect of zinc supplementation on weight and serum markers such as zinc, hemoglobin, iron, copper, etc. We also performed a number of subgroup analyses and there was a consistent finding for a number of outcomes that co-supplementation of zinc with iron decreased the beneficial effect of zinc. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Even though we included 16 new studies in this update, the overall conclusions of the review remain unchanged. Zinc supplementation might help prevent episodes of diarrhea and improve growth slightly, particularly in children aged 6 months to 12 years of age. The benefits of preventive zinc supplementation may outweigh the harms in regions where the risk of zinc deficiency is relatively high.

The Association between Hemoglobin A1c and the Severity of Coronary Artery Disease in Non-diabetic Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome.

Introduction The relationship between the severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) with hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels in diabetic patients is well-understood. However, the association between HbA1c and the severity of CAD in non-diabetics is still controversial. We wanted to find out if HbA1c of the non-diabetic adult population, presenting with an acute coronary syndrome (ACS), had any correlation with the severity of CAD. Methods We selected 119 non-diabetic adults who underwent coronary intervention for clinical reasons during the period of July 2015 to February 2017. The mean age of the patients was 54 ± 10.2 years. All patients were labeled as 'acute coronary syndrome', which included unstable angina, non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), and ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). We obtained blood samples of patients for laboratory investigations, including HbA1c. We used the SYNTAX score as a tool to classify the severity of CAD, and patients having a SYNTAX score of >22 were considered to be having severe CAD. Results In order to find out the association between HbA1c and CAD, a linear regression analysis of HbA1c with the SYNTAX score was performed, which showed no statistically significant correlation between the SYNTAX score and HbA1c (correlation co-efficient = 0.142; p-value = 0.124). To compare the median value of HbA1c in groups with SYNTAX scores of ≤22 and those with SYNTAX scores of >22, we analyzed the data with the Mann-Whitney U test, which showed no significant difference in HbA1c between the two groups (p-value = 0.771). We determined the independent predictors of the severity of CAD by analyzing all variables with logistic regression, considering a SYNTAX score of >22 as a dependent variable. None of the variables, including HbA1c, proved to be statistically significant in multivariate logistic regression analysis. The unadjusted and adjusted odds ratio (OR) of HbA1c with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were 1.71 (0.47-2.92), p-value = 0.735 and 0.87 (0.33-2.29), and 0.78, respectively. Conclusion In conclusion, we find that HbA1c is not an independent predictor of the severity of CAD in non-diabetic adult patients.

Frequency and predictors of non-adherence to lifestyle modifications and medications after coronary artery bypass grafting: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Non-adherence to dietary recommendations, exercise and prescribed drug regimens, in coronary heart disease (CHD) patients following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), is a major health care issue worldwide. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this study was to investigate the frequency and predictors of non-adherence to lifestyle changes and medication among CHD patients after undergoing CABG surgery. METHOD: The sample of this cross sectional descriptive study was 265 patients who underwent isolated primary CABG. Participants who met the eligibility criteria were provided with a pre-coded questionnaire 4 weeks or more after surgery. Adherence was assessed on the basis of patient's self-report. Significance of results was analyzed using Chi square test. RESULTS: Roughly half of the patients were non-adherent to dietary recommendations (n=120, 45.3%) and exercise (n=109, 41.1%) while about one third (n=69, 26%) were non-adherent to prescribed medications. Unwillingness to adopt a new lifestyle and more than one social gathering per week, were found to be statistically significant predictors of non-adherence to diet (p-values<0.001). Reluctance to follow exercise regimen, busy schedule, and fear that exercise will aggravate heart issues were commonly reported as reasons for non-compliance to exercise. As for non-adherence to medication, forgetfulness, affordability of drugs and too many medications to take were important predictors. CONCLUSION: Non-adherence to lifestyle modifications and medication is an emerging problem worldwide. It is essential for medical health professionals to discuss these predictors and address them individually. Our findings highlight the need for a healthy physician and patient relationship.