BackgroundTo determine the prevalence and factors associated with malnutrition among infants with Cleft palate and/or cleft lip (CP+/-L) at Comprehensive Rehabilitation for Uganda Hospital (CoRSU) in Uganda.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study done on infants with CP+/-L and their caretakers admitted between November 2013 and October 2014 at CoRSU hospital which was the study setting. A questionnaire was answered by the infants’ caretakers. The main outcome measure, malnutrition was defined and classified based on Z-scores obtained using the W.H.O Z-calculator in which weights of the infants in kilograms and lengths in centimeters respectively were placed. The values obtained were expressed as a proportion using all enrolled infants with CP+/-L as denominator. Multivariable analysis was used to determine the risk factors.ResultsA total of 44 infants with CP+/-L were enrolled. Of these, 77% were below 4 months of age and 97.7% were immunized. The male-to-female ratio was 1.06:1. About 59% had unilateral CP+/-L. A total of 93.2% were delivered at term with 69.4% having a birth weight greater than 3 kg. Generally, 68% were malnourished, with the highest burden among females (71.4%), infants below 4 months (73.5%) and those with unilateral CP+/-L (77%). About 57% had moderate-to-severe malnutrition. There was delayed supplementation to breast milk, with cow-milk as the main supplemental feed for all the infants. In the multivariable analysis, factors associated with malnutrition included, having caretakers lacking nutritional information post-delivery (OR = 3.8, p = 0.17), low birth weight (OR = 3.4, p = 0.20), and having less than 10 feeds/day (OR = 4.9, p = 0.09).ConclusionCP+/-L infants born in Uganda suffer a high-burden of malnutrition. Preventional strategies are needed with focus on proper feeding information. Research on cost-effective feeds, feeding methods and reasons behind gender disparities in these infants is also required.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.