Evaluation of the treatment guidelines, practices and outcomes of complicated severe acute malnutrition in children aged 0-59 months in sub-Saharan Africa: a study protocol for the SAMAC study

INTRODUCTION: in hospitals across Africa, the case fatality rates of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) have remained consistently high (over 20%), despite the existence of the WHO treatment guideline. This has been attributed to inconsistencies in the implementation of the WHO treatment guidelines in sub-Saharan African countries. In spite of this awareness, the SAM treatment guidelines adopted by various sub-Saharan African countries and hospitals are unknown. Knowledge of the exact treatment practices employed in the management of SAM in different hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa is not known. This study aims to investigate the admission criteria, in-patient treatment guidelines and practices and outcomes of complicated SAM in sub-Saharan African children aged 0-59 months. METHODS: this is an observational study which involves the extraction of admission, treatment and discharge data from the medical records of infants and children aged 0-59 months diagnosed and treated for complicated SAM in sub-Saharan Africa. This information is being used to develop a comprehensive database on the treatment of complicated SAM across sub-Saharan Africa. Information on the national and hospital guidelines for the treatment of complicated SAM is also collected. RESULTS: results of this study will serve as a useful resource on the true reflection of the treatment of complicated SAM across sub-Saharan Africa and will provide valuable information for optimising SAM treatment. CONCLUSION: in order to advocate best practice and reduce SAM-related mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, the identification of the different diagnostic and treatment methods and respective outcomes across different hospitals and countries is imperative.