TIME TO RECOVERY FROM SEVERE ACUTE MALNUTRITION AND ITS PREDICTORS AMONG 0-59 MONTH’S OLD CHILDREN ADMITTED TO STABILIZATION CENTERS: A PUBLIC HOSPITALS RETROSPECTIVE FOLLOW-UP STUDY IN WEST HARERGHE ZONE, OROMIA REGION, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Background: - Severe Acute Malnutrition is a major public health concern that causes sickness, and mortality in developing countries like Ethiopia, particularly among the poor communities. It continues to be a major issue, especially 2.2 and 8.3 million children under the age of five are affected by severe acute malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia respectively. In Ethiopia, the overall length of stay in therapeutic feeding centers ranges from 8 to 47 days. A lengthy hospital stay raises the risk of hospital-acquired infections. Despite a large body of evidences on the magnitude of acute malnutrition among Ethiopian children under the age of five, there is inadequate evidence on the time to recovery from Severe Acute Malnutrition and its related factors among children aged 0-59 months, in the study area. Objective: -To assess the time to recovery from severe acute malnutrition and its predictors among children aged 0 to 59 months admitted to stabilization centers in a public Hospitals in West Harerghe Zone, Oromia region from March 30, 2025 to April 30, 2025. Method: A hospital-based retrospective cohort study was conducted in the West Harerghe zone, eastern Ethiopia. The study population consisted of 264 children aged 0 to 59 months admitted to stabilization centers for Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) between September 1, 2019, and September 30, 2023. Three hospitals were randomly selected from the seven public hospitals in the zone using a lottery method. Data were collected using a standardized data extraction form developed based on the SAM registry and children's medical charts. Kaplan-Meier curves, the log rank test, and Cox proportional hazards models were used for data analysis. Result: The median recovery time was 15 days (95% CI: 13.6-16.4), and the nutritional recovery rate was 97%. Children who received amoxicillin (AHR =3.3, 95 % CI: 2.4-4.5) were more likely to recover. However, those who received folic acid supplements (AHR =0.29, 95 % CI: 0.105 0.79), and admitted with anemia at admission (AHR=0.189, 95% CI: 0.044-0.816) were less likely to recover. Conclusion and recommendation: The overall recovery rate, death rate, and nutritional recovery time were within the acceptable range of the SPHERE project reference values. This study demonstrated that the administration of amoxicillin was associated with a shorter nutritional recovery time. Conversely, children who receive folic acid supplements, and admitted with anemia was associated with a longer nutritional recovery time.