Children with oedema recover better than those with severe wasting in outpatient therapeutic program at Boloso Sore district, Southwest Ethiopia

OBJECTIVES: Severely undernourished young children clinically present with a typical nutritional oedema or none-oedematous. However, research evidence is limited on how these types predict treatment outcomes in Ethiopia. This study was aimed to compare oedematous and none-oedematous children for their treatment outcomes in Boloso Sore district in Southwest Ethiopia. RESULTS: The overall recovery rate was 396 (68%). From oedematous children; 235 (79.9%) recovered, 18 (6.1%) transferred, 6 (2.0%) defaulted, 3 (1.0%) died, and 32 (11%) remained none-respondents. The treatment outcomes among the none-oedematous children were 161 (55.9%), 12 (4.2%), 4 (1.4%), 3 (1.0%), and 108 (37.5%) in similar order. Treatment outcomes of severely undernourished children in the two arms were statistically different (Χ(2) = 5.82, P < 0.016). Severely malnourished children with oedema were 2.3 times highly likely to recover as compared to those without it (adjusted hazard ratio = 2.3 at 95% confidence interval: 1.79, 2.82). We documented that oedematous children in the study area had a better likelihood of recovery as compared to those with severe wasting. We recommend targeted community outreach activities on severe acute malnutrition focusing on the types. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13104-018-3232-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.