Fecal occult blood screening in children with severe malnutrition.

We screened 50 consecutive severely malnourished children for evidence of gastrointestinal tract blood loss. Malnutrition was graded as per WHO recommendations. Gastrointestinal blood loss was detected using fecal occult blood test (FOBT) kit. Thirty (60%) of the study population were documented to be FOBT positive. This simple and rapid test is recommended as a routine screening procedure among severely malnourished children for the detection and timely treatment of occult blood loss, contributing to anemia and related complications.