Edematous Type of Malnutrition Takes Longer Recovery Time Compared to Severe Wasting (Marasmus): Findings on 6-59 months old children treated for Severe Acute Malnutrition After the War in Northern Ethiopia, 2023: Prospective Longitudinal Study

Abstract

Background: Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is still having public health significance by attributing almost fifty percent of the estimated ten to eleven million deaths encountered in less than five-years old children, imposing nine-fold likelihood of death compared with well-nourished children of similar age group. It increases terrifyingly and become lethal during conflicts due to lack of food, compromised water supply and hygienic practices along with insufficient healthcare services. Methods: Hospital-based prospective cohort study was conducted using regularly collected programme data of children admitted to the stabilization center in Suhul general hospital from January 1st, 2023 up to July 31st, 2023. To collect the data, pretested structured questionnaire was generated referring to the national SAM management protocol. Then collected data get coded and entered into Microsoft Excel spreadsheet 2016 version. All forms of analyses were done using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 25. Results: From the total 168 children aged 6-59 months enrolled in the study, ninety-four per cent of them were recovered and transferred to the outpatient therapeutic programme while the rest six per cent of the participants were censored. Appetite test (AHR = 1.874; 95% CI: 1.180-2.978), level of dehydration (AHR = 0.538; 95% CI: 0.361-0.800 for some/moderate dehydration and AHR = 0.250; 95% CI: 0.128-0.489 for severe dehydration or shock), diagnosis at admission (AHR = 0.452; 95% CI: 0.294-0.694), blood transfusion (AHR = 5.559; 95% CI: 2.419-12.773), type of antibiotics (AHR = 0.365; 95% CI: 0.192-0.692) and nasogastric tube feeding (AHR = 0.531; 95% CI: 0.372-0.758) were declared significant predictors of recovery time. Conclusion: Bottom line of the study shows the inpatient therapeutic feeding center has met the agreed indicators for nutrition interventions during humanitarian crises. We recommend the hospital leadership, the regional health bureau and other humanitarian agencies to stress on training clinical workforce directly involved in patient management and care.