Abstract
Background: Acute malnutrition threatens the Lives of 50.5 million children <5 y of age. Consequences of malnutrition include death, among other short-term sequelae. This study was conducted from April to October 2018 to determine the outcomes of children 6-59 months of age with acute severe malnutrition admitted to Singa Hospital in central Sudan.
Methods: Clinical information for children with a mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) <115 mm were collected. We measured children's weight and height and calculated weight-for-height z-scores. Treatment was offered according to World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Outcomes were recorded as recovered, discharged against medical advice or died.
Results: This study included 376 malnourished children. The median age was 18 months (interquartile range [IQR] 12-24). The male:female ratio was 1:1. Among children with weight-for-height Z-scores of -4 and -3, 103 (27.3%) had oedematous malnutrition. There were 131 (34.8%) children with malaria parasites, 33 (8.7%) with pyuria and 24 (6.3%) with intestinal parasites. The recovery rate was 89.1%. The case fatality rate was 3.7%. Mortality was significantly increased with diarrhoea and dermatoses. There were no significant differences in the median of age (17.5 months [IQR 6-24] vs 18 [6-24], p = 0.595), MUAC (110 mm [IQR 104-111] vs 110 [100-111], p = 0.741) or sex (p = 0.991) between children who died and those who recovered.
Conclusions: The case fatality rate was 3.7% and it was associated with diarrhoea and dermatoses.