Abstract
A 7.5-month-old infant with failure to thrive, developmental delay, muscular hypotonia, a visible goitre and severe osteopenia is described. Laboratory examination revealed a markedly increased serum TSH with low free T4, severe iodine and carnitine deficiency. The infant was breastfed until the age of 2.5 months and was then given a mixture of almond extract in water. The mother is a strict vegan and the father a lactovegetarian. The nutritional intake of the child was severely depleted in calories (−46%), calcium (−73%) and iodine (−88%). The restrictive alternative nutrition was responsible for the various deficiency disorders.
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Kanaka, C., Schütz, B. & Zuppinger, K.A. Risks of alternative nutrition in infancy: a case report of severe iodine and carnitine deficiency. Eur J Pediatr 151, 786–788 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01959092
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01959092