Abstract
BackgroundChildren in third world countries suffer from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in an extent of public health important. SAM management protocol available this time brought the approach from facility-based to community-based by Outpatient Therapeutic Program (OTP). But, little was known about the treatment outcomes of the program in Ethiopia. Thus, this study was aimed to assess treatment outcomes of SAM and identify factors associated among children treated at OTP in Wolaita Zone.MethodsA retrospective facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted in OTP records of 794 children, treated at 24 health posts retrieved from January to December 2014. Population proportion to size (PPS) was used to allocate sample for each selected district and OTP sites within district. Individual cards of children were selected by systematic random sampling. Data were entered, thoroughly cleaned, and analyzed in SPSS version 20.ResultsThe recovery rate was revealed as 64.9% at 95% CI (61, 68). Death rate, default rate, weight gain, and length of stay were 1.2%, 2.2%, 4.2 g/kg/day, and 6.8 weeks respectively. Children living in <25 min were with 1.53 times higher odds of recovery than children residing in ≥25 min (AOR = 1.53 at 95% CI (1.11, 2.12)). The likelihood of recovery was 2.6 times higher for children with kwashiorkor than for those with marasmus (AOR = 2.62 at 95% CI (1.77, 3.89)). Likewise, children provided with amoxicillin were 1.52 times more likely to recover compared to their counterparts (AOR = 1.52 at 95% CI (1.09, 2.11)).ConclusionsThe recovery rate and weight gain were lower than sphere standard. Distance from OTP, provision of amoxicillin, and type of malnutrition were factors identified as significantly associated with treatment outcome of SAM. Building capacity of OTP service providers and regular monitoring of service provision based on the management protocol were recommended.
Highlights
Children in third world countries suffer from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in an extent of public health important
The likely recovery of children provided with amoxicillin were explained by supportive effect of antibiotics mainly amoxicillin in treatment progress of SAM at Outpatient Therapeutic Program (OTP)
The recovery rate and weight gain were lower than sphere standard acceptable ranges
Summary
Children in third world countries suffer from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in an extent of public health important. Acute malnutrition is the short-term response to inadequate nutritional intake that often occurs in combination with infections [1] It is classified as moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) and severe acute malnutrition (SAM) based on their severity [1, 2], explicitly indicated by children weight for height Z-score (WHZ) and/or weight for height/ length (WFH %), presence of edema, and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC). SAM in Wolaita Zone was as about 2.5% from different reports [6, 7] It is a public health problem in most developing world including Ethiopia
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