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Observational Study
. 2020 Aug 4:36:241.
doi: 10.11604/pamj.2020.36.241.19584. eCollection 2020.

Evaluation of the treatment guidelines, practices and outcomes of complicated severe acute malnutrition in children aged 0-59 months in sub-Saharan Africa: a study protocol for the SAMAC study

Janet Adede Carboo  1 , Martani Lombard  1 , Cornelia Conradie  1 , Robin Claire Dolman  1 , Cristian Ricci  1   2
Affiliations
Observational Study

Evaluation of the treatment guidelines, practices and outcomes of complicated severe acute malnutrition in children aged 0-59 months in sub-Saharan Africa: a study protocol for the SAMAC study

Janet Adede Carboo et al. Pan Afr Med J. .

Abstract

Introduction: in hospitals across Africa, the case fatality rates of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) have remained consistently high (over 20%), despite the existence of the WHO treatment guideline. This has been attributed to inconsistencies in the implementation of the WHO treatment guidelines in sub-Saharan African countries. In spite of this awareness, the SAM treatment guidelines adopted by various sub-Saharan African countries and hospitals are unknown. Knowledge of the exact treatment practices employed in the management of SAM in different hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa is not known. This study aims to investigate the admission criteria, in-patient treatment guidelines and practices and outcomes of complicated SAM in sub-Saharan African children aged 0-59 months.

Methods: this is an observational study which involves the extraction of admission, treatment and discharge data from the medical records of infants and children aged 0-59 months diagnosed and treated for complicated SAM in sub-Saharan Africa. This information is being used to develop a comprehensive database on the treatment of complicated SAM across sub-Saharan Africa. Information on the national and hospital guidelines for the treatment of complicated SAM is also collected.

Results: results of this study will serve as a useful resource on the true reflection of the treatment of complicated SAM across sub-Saharan Africa and will provide valuable information for optimising SAM treatment.

Conclusion: in order to advocate best practice and reduce SAM-related mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, the identification of the different diagnostic and treatment methods and respective outcomes across different hospitals and countries is imperative.

Keywords: Sub-Saharan Africa; children; medical complications; mortality; severe acute malnutrition; treatment guidelines; treatment practices.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
describes the concept of the SAMAC study and provides details of the variables and outcomes of interest of the study
Figure 2
Figure 2
highlights the countries currently included in the SAMAC study: Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Botswana and South Africa
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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