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Mortality in children with severe acute malnutrition
Hannibal K Abate1, Samuel Z Kidane2, Yibeltal M Feyessa2
1Ethiopian Armed Forces Hospital, Ethiopia.
Insights
Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) in children aged 6-59 months has a low mortality rate but high disappearance and low recovery rates. Diarrheal disease was the most common complication linked to mortality in SAM patients.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Nutrition Science
Background:
- Malnutrition significantly contributes to the global disease burden, causing over one-third of child deaths worldwide.
- Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) is a critical underlying condition in pediatric admissions at Hiwot Fana Specialized University Hospital and across Ethiopia.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify the primary causes of mortality in children aged 6-59 months diagnosed with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM).
- To inform improvements in management protocols for SAM patients and guide future research at Hiwot Fana Specialized University Hospital.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective, descriptive cross-sectional study design was employed.
- Data was collected from patients aged 6-59 months admitted to the Nutrition Rehabilitation Unit between 2013 and 2015.
Main Results:
- The study recorded a case recovery rate of 36% and a mortality rate of 2.1%.
- A high rate of patient disappearance (61.9%) was observed. Diarrheal disease (Acute Gastroenteritis) was the most frequent complication associated with mortality, present in 14 out of 15 deaths.
Conclusions:
- Despite a low Case Fatality Rate, high disappearance and low recovery rates raise concerns about the quality of care for SAM patients.
- The prevalence of preventable complications like Acute Gastroenteritis underscores the need for vigilant management of SAM.
Background:
Malnutrition is a major contributor to the global disease burden, accounting for more than one-third of child deaths worldwide. Severe Acute Malnutrition is a disease that is an underlying condition in many under five admissions in the study area of Hiwot Fana Specialized University Hospital, Harare and in Ethiopia as a whole.
Objective:
The main objective of the study is to identify the prevalent cause of mortality in Severe Acute Malnutrition, among children aged 6-59 months, admitted to Hiwot Fana Specialized University Hospital, Pediatric ward, Nutrition Rehabilitation Unit from 2013 to 2015. Which will be key to help improve the management protocol so as to see better outcomes in the patients in the study area, or at the very least to be a stepping stone to and point out the need for further analytical studies on the topic.
Methodology:
The study was a retrospective, descriptive cross-sectional study which was conducted to identify the prevalent causes of mortality in patients aged 6-59 months admitted to Hiwot Fana Specialized University Hospital, Nutrition Rehabilitation Unit over the period of 2013-2015.
Results:
The study reveals that the case recovery rate of the study area is 36% with the rate of patients who have disappeared or had left against physician's advice being a whapping 61.9%. The mortality rate weez was found to be 2.1% with the mortality sex ratio of Male: Female 1.6:1. The commonest complication that appears to related with mortality in Severe Acute Malnutrition was diarrheal disease (Acute Gastroenteritis) being present in 14 of the 15 deaths in the study period.
Conclusion:
The study concludes that the Case Fatality Rate of the study area, even though very low, the high rate of disappearance and yet a comparatively low rate of recovery brings to question the general quality of care in the facility. More to this the commonest complication associated with mortality being a preventable and manageable one i.e. AGE calls for Vigilance in the management of such patients.
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