Outpatient Nutritional Screening and Rehabilitation of Malnourished Egyptian Children: Are Rural Areas at More Risk?

Abstract

Background Malnutrition presents a major global health burden. In Egypt, it remains an important issue in children under 5 years especially in urban communities. This increased the interest in screening the pediatrics outpatient clinics for early detection and proper management of malnutrition. Aim of the study: The aim of the study was to screen 2–5 years old children enrolled from Egyptian hospitals in rural and urban areas for the risk of malnutrition using Screening Tool for Assessment of Malnutrition in Pediatric (STAMP) and to evaluate the effectiveness of nutritional intervention program. Subjects and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 90 patients recruited from Bolaque El-Dakror hospital in urban Cairo, and El-Badrashine hospital representing rural areas. Dietary history and anthropometric measurements were assessed. Patients at intermediate and severe risk of malnutrition according to STAMP were given tailored nutritional programs and were followed up. Results In the rural hospital, 4.4% of the screened children were underweight, 22.2% were marginally underweight, and 73.3% had normal weight. Regarding the urban hospital, 15.6% were marginally underweight, 84.4% had normal weight and no patients were underweight. Among the rural group 46.7% were at low risk of malnutrition, 17.8% were at intermediate risk and 35.6% were at high risk according to STAMP score results. In the urban group 71.1% were at low risk, 8.9% were at intermediate risk and 20% were at high risk. Nevertheless, the only significant differences were the more stunting and higher BMI in rural hospital patients. After nutritional intervention, high-risk category patients decreased in both groups coupled by significant improvement in the anthropometric parameters and nutrition data with no significant differences between them. Conclusion Nutritional education and prompt implementation of nutritional rehabilitation program for malnourished children detected by screening tools result in improvement in their nutritional status disregards their location whether urban or rural.