Gaps in the Process of Case Detection, Reporting and Feedback of Severe Acute Malnutrition Program in Three Governorates in Yemen: A Quantitative Study

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulla Salem Bin Ghouth
BMC Nutrition ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Guesdon ◽  
Alexia Couture ◽  
Elise Lesieur ◽  
Oleg Bilukha

Abstract Background One newly proposed approach to determining eligibility of children aged 6–59 months for therapeutic feeding programs (TFPs) is to use mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) < 115 mm, bilateral oedema or Weight-for-Age Z-score (WAZ) < − 3 as admission criteria (MUAC+SWAZ). We explored potential consequences of this approach on the eligibility for treatment, as compared with the existing WHO normative guidance. We also compared sensitivity and specificity parameters of this approach for detecting wasted children to the previously described “Expanded MUAC” approach. Methods We analyzed data from 558 population representative cross-sectional cluster surveys conducted since 2007. We retrieved all children classified as severe acute malnutrition (SAM), moderate acute malnutrition (MAM), and those who are both wasted and stunted (WA + ST), and calculated proportions of previously eligible children who would now be excluded from treatment, as well as proportions of non-malnourished children among those who would become eligible. We also analyzed the expected changes in the number and demographics (sex, age) of the selected populations of children according to the different admission approaches. Results Both MUAC+SWAZ and Expanded MUAC case detection approaches substantially increase the sensitivity in detecting SAM, as compared to an approach which restricts detection of SAM cases to MUAC< 115 mm and oedema. Improved sensitivity however is attained at the expense of specificity and would require a very large increase of the size of TFPs, while still missing a non-negligible proportion (20–25%) of the SAM caseload. While our results confirm the sensitivity of the MUAC+SWAZ case detection approach in detecting WA + ST (over 80%), they show, on the other hand, that about half of the additional target detected by using SWAZ criterion will be neither SAM nor WA + ST. Conclusions These results suggest that recently promoted approaches to case detection inflate TFPs’ targets through the allocation of treatment to large numbers of children who have not been shown to require this type of support, including a significant proportion of non-acutely malnourished children in the MUAC+SWAZ approach. Considering the scarcity of resources for the implementation of TFPs, the rationale of abandoning the use of WHZ and of these alternative case detection strategies need to be critically reviewed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 189 (12) ◽  
pp. 1623-1627
Author(s):  
Francisco M Barba ◽  
Lieven Huybregts ◽  
Jef L Leroy

Abstract Child acute malnutrition (AM) is an important cause of child mortality. Accurately estimating its burden requires cumulative incidence data from longitudinal studies, which are rarely available in low-income settings. In the absence of such data, the AM burden is approximated using prevalence estimates from cross-sectional surveys and the incidence correction factor $K$, obtained from the few available cohorts that measured AM. We estimated $K$ factors for severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) from AM incidence and prevalence using representative cross-sectional baseline and longitudinal data from 2 cluster-randomized controlled trials (Innovative Approaches for the Prevention of Childhood Malnutrition—PROMIS) conducted between 2014 and 2017 in Burkina Faso and Mali. We compared K estimates using complete (weight-for-length z score, mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), and edema) and partial (MUAC, edema) definitions of SAM and MAM. $K$ estimates for SAM were 9.4 and 5.7 in Burkina Faso and in Mali, respectively; K estimates for MAM were 4.7 in Burkina Faso and 5.1 in Mali. The MUAC and edema–based definition of AM did not lead to different $K$ estimates. Our results suggest that $K$ can be reliably estimated when only MUAC and edema-based data are available. Additional studies, however, are required to confirm this finding in different settings.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amare Kassaw ◽  
Desalegne Amare ◽  
Minyichil Birhanu ◽  
Aragaw Tesfaw ◽  
Shegaw Zeleke ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Malnutrition is still a global public health problem contributing for under-five morbidity and mortality. The case is similar in Ethiopia in which severe acute malnutrition is the major contributor to mortality being an underlying cause for nearly 45% of under-five deaths. However, there is no recent evidence that shows the time to death and public health importance of oxygen saturation and chest in drawing in the study area. Therefore, estimated time to death and its predictors can provide an input for program planners and decision-makers. Methods A facility -based retrospective cohort study was conducted among 488 severe acute malnourished under-five children admitted from the 1st of January 2016 to the 30th of December 2019. The study participants were selected by using simple random sampling technique. Data were entered in to Epi-Data version 3.1 and exported to STATA version15 statistical software for further analysis. The Kaplan Meier was used to estimate cumulative survival probability and a log-rank test was used to compare the survival time between different categories of explanatory variables. The Cox-proportional hazard regression model was fitted to identify predictors of mortality. P-value< 0.05 was used to declare statistical significance. Results Out of the total 488 randomly selected charts of children with severe acute malnutrition, 476 records were included in the final analysis. A total of 54(11.34%) children died with an incidence rate of 9.1death /1000 person- days. Failed appetite test (AHR: 2.4; 95%CI: 1.26, 4.67), altered consciousness level at admission (AHR: 2.4; 95%CI: 1.08, 4.67), oxygen saturation below 90% (AHR: 3.3; 95%CI: 1.40, 7.87), edema (AHR 2.9; 95%CI: 1.45, 5.66) and HIV infection (AHR: 2.8; 95%CI: 1.24, 6.36) were predictors of mortality for children diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition. Conclusion The overall survival status of severe acute malnourished children was low as compared to national sphere standards and previous reports in the literature. The major predictors of mortality were oxygen saturation below 90%, altered consciousness, HIV infection, edema and failed appetite test. Therefore, early screening of complications, close follow up and regular monitoring of sever acute malnourished children might improve child survival rate.


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