Therapeutic and Evolutionary Profiles of Children Aged 0-59 Months: A Case Study of Severe Acute Malnourished Treated at Hôpital Notre Dame Des Apôtres, N'Djamena

Abstract

According to the World Health Organization, malnutrition is a pathological condition resulting from the relative or absolute insufficiency or excess of one or more essential nutrients, whether manifested clinically or detected only by biological, anthropometric or physiological analyses. It remains a major public health problem. The aim of this study was therefore to determine the therapeutic and evolutionary profiles of Severe Acute Malnutrition patients at Notre Dame des Apôtres Hospital in N'Djaména (Chad). This was a prospective, descriptive study carried out on 7 months, from January 1 to July 31, 2023. This included all severely acutely malnourished children with medical complications admitted to the hospital's therapeutic nutrition unit. The variables studied were therapeutic and evolutionary. Data were entered and analyzed using Excel 2016 spreadsheet and SSPS 18.0 software. Among the 1454 children admitted to the unit during our study, 41.82% were stabilized, 6.75% cured and 0.79% abandoned, with an average length of stay of 8.67 days. The mortality rate was 1.76%. Children on F75 accounted for 46%, 37% on plumpy nut and 10% on F100. Antibiotics and multivitamins are routinely used in the management of malnourished children. The results of this study show that parent education could be an asset in the management of severe acute malnutrition.