Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is a life threatening condition and is defined by 1) a weight-for-height Z-score more than three standard deviations (SD) below the median based on the 2006 World Health Organization (WHO) growth standards, 2) a mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) of less than 115 mm or 3) by the presence of nutritional edema. Signs such as edema, mucocutaneous changes, hepatomegaly, lethargy, anorexia, anemia, severe immune deficiency and rapid progression to mortality characterize a state commonly coined as "complicated SAM". Kwashiorkor is one of the forms of complicated SAM commonly distinguished by the unmistakable presence of bipedal edema. SAM results in high mortality rates of up to half a million child deaths annually. Undernourished children are at higher risk of mortality ranging from three times more risk among children with moderate malnutrition to 10-times in SAM children compared to well-nourished children. Children with complicated SAM require inpatient treatment in specialized centers. The "Rehabilitation and Nutritional Education Center" (CREN) is a specialized center in Burkina Faso receiving on average 10 SAM children per day. Recovery rate is lower than international standards; and adverse events and mortality remain strikingly high. Our main objective is to assess the underlying risk factors affecting the effectiveness of the nutritional therapeutic treatment protocol for complicated SAM children under 5 years of age who have been referred to the CREN, at the Centre Hôspitalier Universitaire Souro, Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. The specific objective is to assess the effectiveness of alternative dietary regimens during the stabilization phase on well-specified clinical and biochemical outcomes in children with complicated SAM. Dietary regimens differ by their carbohydrate profile and content, and by their different micronutrient composition including vitamin A, iron and zinc.
Age range
6 Months – 59 Months
Sex
ALL
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Recovery rate of children
Timeframe: Three to Five days
Daily weight gain
Timeframe: Three to Five days
Number of days during the first phase of treatment
Timeframe: Three to Five days