Abstract
Introductionin hospitals across Africa, the case fatality rates of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) have remained consistently high (over 20%), despite the existence of the WHO treatment guideline. This has been attributed to inconsistencies in the implementation of the WHO treatment guidelines in sub-Saharan African countries. In spite of this awareness, the SAM treatment guidelines adopted by various sub-Saharan African countries and hospitals are unknown. Knowledge of the exact treatment practices employed in the management of SAM in different hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa is not known. This study aims to investigate the admission criteria, in-patient treatment guidelines and practices and outcomes of complicated SAM in sub-Saharan African children aged 0-59 months.Methodsthis is an observational study which involves the extraction of admission, treatment and discharge data from the medical records of infants and children aged 0-59 months diagnosed and treated for complicated SAM in sub-Saharan Africa. This information is being used to develop a comprehensive database on the treatment of complicated SAM across sub-Saharan Africa. Information on the national and hospital guidelines for the treatment of complicated SAM is also collected.Resultsresults of this study will serve as a useful resource on the true reflection of the treatment of complicated SAM across sub-Saharan Africa and will provide valuable information for optimising SAM treatment.Conclusionin order to advocate best practice and reduce SAM-related mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, the identification of the different diagnostic and treatment methods and respective outcomes across different hospitals and countries is imperative.
Highlights
Undernutrition remains a public health burden and has gained global significance
Results of this study will serve as a useful database, which will be a true reflection of the treatment of complicated Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) across various hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa
To advocate best practice and reduce SAM-related mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, the identification of the different diagnostic and treatment methods and their respective outcomes across different hospitals and countries is imperative for policy development and advancement in SAM treatment
Summary
Undernutrition remains a public health burden and has gained global significance. It is captured in a number of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals, especially goal 2, which aims at ending hunger, achieving food security, improving nutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture [1]. Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is an extreme form of nutrient deprivation as a result of inadequate dietary consumption, malabsorption of ingested nutrients and/or acute or chronic disease or infections, which increases nutrient requirements while promoting nutrient loss and catabolism over a short period of time [4]. It is characterised by a weight-for-length/height z-score (WHZ) of
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