Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST) survey and degree of malnutrition among children born to HIV infected mothers under the Prevention of Mother to-Child-Transmission (PMTCT) Program.

OBJECTIVE: To examine morbidity experience, pattern of nutrition status and development of the children born to HIV infected mothers under the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) Program compared to the national standard.

MATERIAL AND METHOD: In 2008, births given by mothers under PMTCT in five selected hospitals of Health Region 4 of Thailand between 2002 and 2006 were identified from the registered data and the medical records, were reviewed. Their homes were visited to collect the data.

RESULTS: Among 138 mothers and 143 children studied, nobody died. Forty-four were healthy 91 experienced mild episode of various infections and allergy within the past three months, one was admitted for pneumonia, two were HIV-positive, 53 were negative and the other 88 had no final blood tested In the Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST), all parameters were minimal, less than 5%. Overall, the suspected delay development is around 15.4%. For nutritional status assessment by height for age (HFA), weight for age (WFA) and weight for height (WFH) reported a quarter (23.1%) was stunting whereas 12.6% were thin and 5.6% were wasting, respectively.

CONCLUSION: Among the study PMTCT children, serious morbidity was rare. Nutritional deficiency was more common than delayed development.