An Experience at a Tertiary Level Hospital NRC in Management of Severe Acute Malnutrition in Children Aged between 6-59 Months Adopting World Health Organization Recommendations

Abstract

<p><em>Objectives:<strong> </strong></em><em>To study the outcome indicators of a nutritional rehabilitation center and to assess its performance.</em></p><p><em>Design: </em><em>Retrospective case study.</em></p><p><em>Period:</em><em> One year period from Jan 2014 to Dec 2014.</em></p><p><em>Methods:<strong> </strong></em><em>Data of 254 children aged between 6-59</em><em> </em><em>months with severe acute malnutrition admitted in nutritional rehabilitation center at department of pediatrics, Gandhi hospital, was</em><em> </em><em>analyzed retrospectively. Identification and treatment of severe acute malnutrition was done according to world health organization recommendations.</em></p><p><em>Results:<strong> </strong></em><em>The recovery rate, death rate, defaulter rate, mean (SD) weight gain &amp; mean (SD) duration of stay in the nutritional rehabilitation center were 51.42%, 3.54%, 28.57%, 8g/kg/day, 14.2 days respectively.</em></p><p><em>Conclusions:<strong> </strong></em><em>Nutritional rehabilitation centers are effective in management of severe malnutrition and also in decreasing the case fatality rates.</em></p>