My name is Shera Henricks.  I am in my junior year of nursing school at the
University of North Dakota in Grand Forks.  Doing this journal critique has
been a good experience for me.  The article about rickets was interesting.
I did not really know much about nutritional rickets until reading this
article and editorial.  The purpose of the article was clearly stated for
me, which was to analyze the characteristics of infants and children
diagnosed with nutritional rickets at two medical centers in North Carolina
in the 1990's.  The study methods were to review records on all patients
with a diagnosis of nutritional rickets between the years of 1990 and 1999.
Information obtained included age at diagnosis, infant feeding, history of
Vit. B supplementation, race, sex, weight and length/height at time of
diagnosis.  I had to ponder the results for awhile.  17 of the 30 patients
were referred in the year 1998 and the first half of 1999.  Why such a
greater increase in this year and a half?  Were there any significant
findings about these patients compared to the other 13 patients?
Conclusions:  One of the major factors stated as a cause of rickets was the
increase in number of women who breastfeed their infants.  This data was
obtained from WIC, which does not represent all mothers in the state of
North Carolina.  Also, the sample was drawn from the Southern area of NC,
again not representing all mothers in NC.  From reading this article, I have
realized how important it is to prevent Vit. D deficiency, especially in
African American women.  I think that if a further study were to be
conducted, it should contain a sample from other areas of the state as well
as surrounding areas.  This problem may exist in other areas, and not know
it.  The sources were relevant to the study.  They were comprehensive and
current, some dating back to the 1960's and 70's.  The lit review was
clearly identified and provided me with a basic understanding of the problem
being studied.  I thought that this article was great.

Shera Henricks, SN
Grand Forks, ND
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