Abstract:

This is a retrospective observational hospital-based study aimed to determine the prevalence and outcome of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in children 6 – 59 months in Magumeri local Government area admitted to Magumeri General Hospital – INTERSOS Nigeria Stabilization centre during the period December 2018 to June 2019. A total of 171 children with severe acute malnutrition were identified; 104 of cases were male (60.8%) while 67 (39.2%) were females. The mean age of the admitted children was 15.8 months. Children 36–59 months were least affected. The overall prevalence of severe malnutrition was 4.0%, and the general mortality rate was 3.8% while mortality rate among children with severe malnutrition was 2.9%.

Amongst children admitted with SAM, 126 (73.7%) had marasmus, 30 (17.5%) had kwashiorkor and only 16 (9.4%) were marasmic-kwashiorkor. The highest prevalence rates occurred in February and April. The common clinical presentations were acute diarrhea disease, upper respiratory tract infection, malaria, urinary tract infections, dermatitis, measles, sepsis and pneumonia. Only 14.6% were fully vaccinated, while 49.7% were not vaccinated. Overall 81.9% improved and were discharged, 8.2% were transferred to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital for management of other severe medical complications, 7 % discharged against medical advice and 2.9 % died. In conclusion, the prevalence and mortality among children with SAM at Magumeri Local Government area were high, and the current management strategies were inadequate to cater for the high cases as a result of the crisis in the region.

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