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Identification of risk factors for inpatient mortality in infants and children with severe wasting and/or nutritional oedema—what next?

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 78, pages 163–164 (2024)Cite this article

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Infants and children with severe wasting (defined by weight-for-height z-scores below -3 SD and/or mid-upper arm circumference [MUAC] below 115 mm) and/or nutritional oedema who receive inpatient treatment remain highly vulnerable despite implementation of current World Health Organization (WHO) and national guidelines. But this population group is extremely heterogeneous with certain infants and children having higher likelihood of death or other harmful outcomes – and therefore potentially needing more intensive monitoring and targeted intervention based on risk to prevent deaths.

The recent article published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition by Sturgeon et al. [1] identified eight factors in infants and children with severe wasting and/or nutritional oedema associated with risk of inpatient mortality across three sites in Zimbabwe and Zambia. There have been other studies examining factors associated with risk of inpatient mortality in these children, although quality is variable across such analyses. The study by Sturgeon et al. [1] had a low risk of bias based on the Quality in Prognostic Studies (QUIPS) tool [2] having applied a robust analysis to identify these risk factors. Other prognostic studies evaluating associations between risk factors and inpatient mortality in infants and children with severe wasting and/or nutritional oedema with a low risk of bias have been published in recent years [3,4,5,6,7]; the study by Sturgeon et al. [1] adds to this evolving evidence base.

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References

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  1. Independent Consultant, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Allison I. Daniel

  2. Independent Researcher, Kilifi, Kenya

    Julie Jemutai

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  1. Allison I. Daniel
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AID and JJ drafted this invited comment.

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Correspondence to Allison I. Daniel.

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Daniel, A.I., Jemutai, J. Identification of risk factors for inpatient mortality in infants and children with severe wasting and/or nutritional oedema—what next?. Eur J Clin Nutr 78, 163–164 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-023-01366-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-023-01366-9

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