Hematologic Disorders and Anemia Q 26

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Which statements by the mother of a toddler would lead the nurse to suspect that the child has iron-deficiency anemia? Select all that apply.

  

     A. “He drinks over 3 cups of milk per day.”

     B. “I can’t keep enough apple juice in the house; he must drink over 10 ounces per day.”

     C. “He refuses to eat more than 2 different kinds of vegetables.”

     D. “He doesn’t like meat, but he will eat small amounts of it.”

     E. “He sleeps 12 hours every night and takes a 2-hour nap.”

    

Correct Answers: A & B

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Toddlers should have between 2 and 3 cups of milk per day and 8 ounces of juice per day. If they have more than that, then they are probably not eating enough other foods, including iron-rich foods that have the needed nutrients.

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Option A: A serving of iron-fortified cereals typically has 100 percent of the daily value for iron in just one serving. The exact amount will vary, so be sure to check the label. Dry cereals, like Cheerios, are usually fortified as well.

Option B: The body absorbs iron better when the child consumes it with a source of vitamin C. To enable the body to absorb more iron, serve iron-rich foods alongside foods rich in vitamin C.

Option C: The body doesn’t absorb nonheme iron as easily as heme iron. This is true for both toddlers and adults. If the child eats a vegetarian or mostly vegetarian diet, aim for twice as much iron as the recommended amount.

Option D: Meat and poultry contain large amounts of heme iron, which is easy for the body to digest. Beef, organ meats, and liver in particular have a lot of iron. A 3-ounce serving of beef liver, for example, contains 5 mg of iron.

Option E: Peirano et al. reported that relative to controls, children with IDA showed: a) longer duration of REM sleep episodes in the first third and shorter in the last third; b) more REM sleep episodes in the first third and fewer in the second third; and c) shorter latency to the first REM sleep episode and shorter NREM stage 2. So, their results show that IDA is associated with long-lasting alterations in the temporal organization of sleep patterns.

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