Survey of childhood malnutrition at Dili National Hospital, East Timor
Publication Date
November 2006
Citation
Bucens IK, Maclennan C. Survey of childhood malnutrition at Dili National Hospital, East Timor. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health. 2006;42(1-2):28-32.
Abstract
Objectives: To describe the characteristics and short-term outcomes of children with malnutrition admitted to Dili National Hospital (DNH), East Timor.
Methods: A prospective observational survey using caretaker interviews and medical record review was conducted on the paediatric ward at DNH for 12 months from March 2002. Patients were children aged 2 months to 12 years, admitted with moderate to severe malnutrition as either a primary or secondary diagnosis.
Results: Malnutrition was present in 31.8% (280/880) of paediatric admissions during the study period. Sixty-one per cent of the malnutrition cases were severe malnutrition (weight-for-height below −3 Z-scores and/or oedema) and 53.7% were both wasted and stunted. The hospital case-fatality rate was 12.9% (36/280). Immunization coverage was low, with 39% of cases never immunized and 29% incompletely immunized according to the national immunization schedule.
Conclusions: There is a high rate of malnutrition among paediatric inpatients at DNH, consistent with results of anthropometric surveys in the newly independent East Timor. Despite the introduction of a standardized protocol following WHO guidelines and associated training on the management of severe malnutrition, the hospital case-fatality rate for severe malnutrition was still high (12.9%).
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