Time to Discharge and its Predictors among Children Aged 1–60 Months with Severe Acute Malnutrition Admitted to the Therapeutic Feeding Center in A Tertiary Hospital, North West Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Standard treatment of severe acute malnutrition with medical complication and/or failed appetite test is admission in therapeutic feeding centers for stabilization. Once stabilized, patients will be linked to Outpatient treatment program for rehabilitation. Information regarding time to discharge from inpatient therapeutic feeding centers is limited in Ethiopia. The main objective of this study was to assess the time to discharge and its predictors among children 1–60 months with Severe Acute Malnutrition admitted to University of Gondar Hospital. METHODS: Hospital Based retrospective follow up study was conducted in Gondar University Hospital among 282 children aged 1–60 months admitted to inpatient Therapeutic Feeding Center from June 2018 to December 2020. Participants were selected by Simple random sampling technique. Time to discharge from inpatient treatment was estimated using Kaplan-Meir procedure and Log Rank test was used to test observed difference between covariates. Identification of predictors for time to discharge was done by Stratified cox regression model. RESULTS: Overall 282 children were studied; 242 (85.8%) were discharged improved and 40 (14.2%) were censored. The median time to Discharge was 13 days (IQR: 9–18) and the Incidence of discharge was found to be 6.4 (95% CI: 5.6–7.2) per 100 person- day observations. Kwash-dermatosis (AHR=2.4, 95% CI: 1.17–4.8), Anemia (AHR=1.7, 95% CI: 1.1–2.6), pneumonia at admission (AHR=1.6, 95% CI: 1.01–2.63) and Hospital acquired infection (AHR=4.4, 95% CI: 2.4–8.2) were predictors of time to discharge. CONCLUSION: Hospital stay at the stabilization center was prolonged. Pneumonia, anemia, kwash dermatosis and Nosocomial infections were significant predictors of time to discharge.