RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Treating severe acute malnutrition seriously
JF Archives of Disease in Childhood
JO Arch Dis Child
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
SP 453
OP 461
DO 10.1136/adc.2006.098327
VO 92
IS 5
A1 Steve Collins
YR 2007
UL http://adc.bmj.com/content/92/5/453.abstract
AB Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) affects approximately 13 million children under the age of 5 and is associated with 1–2 million preventable child deaths each year. In most developing countries, case fatality rates (CFRs) in hospitals treating SAM remain at 20–30% and few of those requiring care actually access treatment. Recently, community-based therapeutic care (CTC) programmes treating most cases of SAM solely as outpatients have dramatically reduced CFRs and increased the numbers receiving care. CTC uses ready-to-use therapeutic foods and aims to increase access to services, promoting early presentation and compliance, thereby increasing coverage and recovery rates. Initial data indicate that this combination of centre-based and community-based care is cost effective and should be integrated into mainstream child survival programmes.