Effectiveness of home-based fortified diet in the rehabilitation of malnourished children in resource restrained country: an institution based retrospective study

Abstract

Background: Globally, it is estimated that 50 million children under five are wasted. National nutrition survey-2018 has shown that 23.3% and 45.5% of children are wasted and stunted in Pakistan. Many studies have shown that hospital-based management of malnutrition is not practical due to high cost and iatrogenic infections, and currently, WHO recommends community-based management of malnutrition with the provision of therapeutic food. There is limited evidence of community rehabilitation of malnourished children by using the home-fortified diet in Pakistan. This study evaluated the effectiveness of using the home-fortified diet in achieving recovered from malnutrition through a retrospective chart review.Methods: A retrospective chart review of pediatric patients (aged six months –5 years) seen in Indus Hospital between January 2017 to June 2018 was conducted. A predesigned data extraction form was used to record detailed information about demographic characteristics, feeding, anthropometric, micronutrient, and nutritional details at enrollment and on follow-up.Results: A total of 361 patients were included in the final analysis. The median age of children was 14 months. 102 children were recovered from malnutrition with a median length of stay in the program of 28 days. The median for weight gain was 4.8 (0-10.3) g/Kg/day, 226 children defaulted and 10 died.Conclusion: This study revealed adequate weight gain and recovered from malnutrition in children by using the home-fortified diet in real-life situations. Home-fortified diets may serve as an effective strategy in community-based rehabilitation of malnourished children, especially in resource constraint contexts.