Survival status and mortality predictors among severely malnourished under 5 years of age children admitted to Minia University maternity and children hospital

BACKGROUND: Though effective treatment programs for severely malnourished children are available, mortality rate among children with acute malnutrition continue to rise and little is known about its long-term outcomes and potential predictors of its in-hospital and post-discharge mortality. The aim of this study was to assess the survival status and predictors for mortality in severely malnourished children admitted to Minia University Maternity and Children Hospital. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study which included 135 children under 5 years of age who were admitted to the nutrition rehabilitation ward with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) during the period from January to December 2018. Data were collected from the inpatient’s hospital records and the children’s parents/guardians were interviewed using a detailed structured questionnaire that inquired about demographic and socioeconomic variables. The logistic and Cox regressions were used to assess the factors associated with the SAM’s mortality. RESULTS: A total of 135 children were enrolled into the study. Death rate during hospitalization was 9.6%. The survival rate at the end of the fourth week of admission was 82.4%. There were 6.7% post-discharge deaths among 104 alive discharged children which occurred within 8 weeks after discharge. The adjusted HRs (95% CIs) for total SAM deaths were 1.57 (1.10–2.99) in children < 12 vs ≥ 12 months old; 4.79 (2.23–6.10) in those with WAZ < −3SD, 2.99 (1.16–4.66) in those with edema at admission and 3.44 (1.07–9.86) in children with complications. The respective ORs (95%CIs) for in-hospital SAM deaths in the same groups of children were 2.64 (1.22–6.43), 8.10 (2.16–11.67), 3.04 (1.70–6.06) and 3.71 (1.59–6.78). The main predictor for the SAM’s post-discharge mortality was illiteracy of mothers; the adjusted HR (95%CI) was 7.10 (1.58–31.93; p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Age, WAZ, edema and complications at admission were predictors for both in-hospital and total SAM mortality, while mother’s education contributed to the early post-discharge mortality. The identification of predictors for mortality is an important preliminary step for interventions aiming to reduce morbidity and mortality.