Effectivity of microscopic test as a simple diagnostic method to detect fat malabsorption in children

  • Ariani Dewi Widodo Department of Pediatrics, Harapan Kita Women and Children Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia
  • Muzal Kadim Department of Child Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia, Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2512-255X
  • Ina Susianti Timan Department of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia, Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia
  • Nuraini Irma Susanti Department of Pediatrics, Fatmawati General Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia
  • Fatima Safira Alatas Department of Child Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia, Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1299-7154
  • Agus Firmansyah Department of Child Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia, Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia
DOI: https://doi.org/10.13181/mji.v28i4.3640
Keywords: children, feces, lipids, malabsorption syndromes
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Abstract

BACKGROUND Lipid malabsorption causes many health problems, for example stunting, a major worldwide issue. There has not been any assessment on the effectivity of lipid microscopic test in diagnosing lipid malabsorption. This research was aimed to study the effectivity of lipid microscopic test in detecting lipid malabsorption in children.

METHODS This was a cross-sectional diagnostic study that evaluated the effectivity of lipid microscopic test using Sudan III against steatocrit test as the gold standard in diagnosing lipid malabsorption. The study was done in 68 children aged 6–60 months in Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta. Results of lipid microscopic test were compared with that of steatocrit test among children with lipid malabsorption and normal children. The primary endpoints of this study are the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV).

RESULTS A total of 68 children consisting of 41 boys and 27 girls were included, with a median age of 14.3 months. The most frequently found stool consistency was mushy (50%). The most common result of microscopic test, found in 42% of subjects, was positive 1. Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of lipid microscopic test were 49.15%, 66.67%, 90.63%, and 16.67%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS Lipid microscopic test has a moderate sensitivity in diagnosing fat malabsorption and needs to be complemented with other methods such as steatocrit.

References

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Published
2019-12-13
How to Cite
1.
Widodo AD, Kadim M, Timan IS, Susanti NI, Alatas FS, Firmansyah A. Effectivity of microscopic test as a simple diagnostic method to detect fat malabsorption in children. Med J Indones [Internet]. 2019Dec.13 [cited 2024Apr.20];28(4):338-44. Available from: http://mji.ui.ac.id/journal/index.php/mji/article/view/3640
Issue
Vol. 28 No. 4 (2019): December
Section
Clinical Research

Copyright (c) 2019 Ariani Dewi Widodo, Muzal Kadim, Ina S. Timan, Fatima Safira Alatas, Nuraini Irma Susanti, Agus Firmansyah

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