A Prospective Comparison of Standard and Modified Acute Malnutrition Treatment Protocols during COVID-19 in South Sudan

Shannon Doocy, Sarah King, Sule Ismail, Eva Leidman, Heather Stobaugh

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

A non-randomized prospective cohort study was conducted in 2022 to compare recovery rate and length of stay (LoS) for acutely malnourished children treated under South Sudan’s standard Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) protocol and a COVID-modified protocol. Children aged 6–59 months received acute malnutrition (AM) treatment under the standard or modified protocol (mid-upper-arm circumference-only entry/exit criteria and simplified dosing). Primary (recovery rate and LoS) were compared for outpatient therapeutic (OTP) and therapeutic supplementary feeding programs (TSFP) using descriptive statistics and mixed-effects models. Children admitted to OTP under both protocols were similar in age and sex; children admitted to TSFP were significantly older under the modified protocol than the standard protocol. Shorter LoS and higher recovery rates were observed under the modified protocol for both OTP (recovery: 93.3% vs. 87.2%; LoS: 38.3 vs. 42.8 days) and TSFP (recovery: 79.8% vs. 72.7%; LoS: 54.0 vs. 61.9 days). After adjusting for site and child characteristics, neither differences in adjusted odds of recovery [OTP: 2.63; TSFP 1.80] nor LoS [OTP −10.0; TSFP −7.8] remained significant. Modified protocols for AM performed well. Adjusted models indicate similar treatment outcomes to the standard protocol. Adopting simplified protocols could be beneficial post-pandemic; however, recovery and relapse will need to be monitored.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number4853
JournalNutrients
Volume15
Issue number23
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2023

Keywords

  • COVID-19 nutrition adaptations
  • South Sudan
  • acute malnutrition
  • community management of acute malnutrition
  • simplified nutrition treatment protocol

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Food Science
  • Nutrition and Dietetics

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