Survival and nutritional status of children with severe acute malnutrition, six months post-discharge from outpatient treatment in Jigawa state, Nigeria

BACKGROUND: The Outpatient Therapeutic Program (OTP) for treatment brings the management of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) closer to the community. Many lives have been saved through this approach, but little data exists on the outcome of the children after discharge from such programmes. This study was aimed to determine the survival and nutritional status of children at six months after discharge from OTP for SAM. METHODOLOGY: This was a prospective study of children with SAM admitted into 10 OTPs in two local government areas of Jigawa state from June 2016 to July 2016. Home visits at six months after discharge enabled the collection of data on survival and nutritional status. The primary outcome measures were survival and nutritional status (Mid upper arm circumference and weight-for-height z-score). RESULT: Of 494 children with SAM, 410 were discharged and 379 were followed up. Of these, 354, (93.4%) were found alive while 25 (6.6%) died. Among the survivors 333 (94.1%) had MUAC ≥12.5cm and 64 (18.1%) had WHZ<-3. Mortality rates were higher 10 (8.4%) among the 6-11months old. Most deaths 16 (64%) occurred within the first 3months post-discharge. Those who died were significantly more stunted, p = 0.016 and had a smaller head circumference, p = 0.005 on entry to OTP programme. There was improvement from admission to six months follow up in the number of children with complete immunization (27.4% to 35.6%), and a decrease in the number of unimmunized children (34.8% vs 20.6%) at follow-up. CONCLUSION: The study demonstrates good post discharge survival rate and improved nutritional status for SAM patients managed in OTPs. There were, however considerable post discharge mortality, especially in the first three months and lower immunization uptake post discharge. A follow-up programme will improve these indices further.