Trial reportGlobal health, science and practice2019
Alternative Ready-To-Use Therapeutic Food Yields Less Recovery Than the Standard for Treating Acute Malnutrition in Children From Ghana.
Trial report in Global health, science and practice, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Local Food Interventions for the Management of Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) among Children Aged 6 to 59 Months: A Systematic Review and Non-inferiority Meta-Analysis.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2026Pooled it
- Effect of fatty acid profiles in varying recipes of ready-to-use therapeutic foods on neurodevelopmental and clinical outcomes of children (6-59 months) with severe wasting: a systematic review.Nutrition reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) Containing Low or No Dairy Compared to Standard RUTF for Children with Severe Acute Malnutrition: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2021Pooled it
- Effects of Formula-100 therapeutic milk andNarra J · 2024Trial
- Impact of food supplements on early child development in children with moderate acute malnutrition: A randomised 2 x 2 x 3 factorial trial in Burkina Faso.PLoS medicine · 2020Trial
- A Global Scoping Review on Alternative Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods.Maternal & child nutrition · 2025Article
- Exploring current barriers and enablers of severe acute malnutrition management among children (6-59 months): perspectives from health professionals in northern Ghana.BMC nutrition · 2025Article
- Nutrient Composition, Sensory Qualities, and Acceptability of Locally Prepared Ready-To-Use Therapeutic Food in Northern Ghana's Hospital Settings.Food science & nutrition · 2025Article
- Micronutrient status in children aged 6-59 months with severe wasting and/or nutritional edema: implications for nutritional rehabilitation formulations.Nutrition reviews · 2025Review
- The effect of maternal undernutrition on adverse obstetric outcomes among women who attend antenatal care in Gedeo zone public hospitals, cohort study design.BMC nutrition · 2024Article
- Predictors of time to recovery from uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition among children in eastern Ethiopia.Frontiers in nutrition · 2024Article
- Article
- Severe Acute Malnutrition: The Potential of Non-Peanut, Non-Milk Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods.Current nutrition reports · 2023Review
- Assessment of Natural Waxes as Stabilizers in Peanut Butter.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Article
- Malnutrition and Gut Microbiota in Children.Nutrients · 2021Review
- Eco-geographic patterns of child malnutrition in India and its association with cereal cultivation: An analysis using demographic health survey and agriculture datasets.Wellcome open research · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundOnly 20% of children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) have access to ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF), and RUTF cost limits its accessibility.
methodsThis randomized, double-blind controlled study involved a clinical equivalence trial comparing the effectiveness of an alternative RUTF with standard RUTF in the home-based treatment of uncomplicated SAM and moderate malnutrition in Ghanaian children aged 6 to 59 months. The primary outcome was recovery, equivalence was defined as being within 5 percentage points of the control group, and an intention-to-treat analysis was used. Alternative RUTF was composed of whey protein, soybeans, peanuts, sorghum, milk, sugar, and vegetable oil. Standard RUTF included peanuts, milk, sugar, and vegetable oil. The cost of alternative RUTF ingredients was 14% less than standard RUTF. Untargeted metabolomics was used to characterize the bioactive metabolites in the RUTFs.
resultsOf the 1,270 children treated for SAM or moderate malnutrition, 554 of 628 (88%) receiving alternative RUTF recovered (95% confidence interval [CI]=85% to 90%) and 516 of 642 (80%) receiving standard RUTF recovered (95% CI=77% to 83%). The difference in recovery was 7.7% (95% CI=3.7% to 11.7%). Among the 401 children with SAM, the recovery rate was 130 of 199 (65%) with alternative RUTF and 156 of 202 (77%) with standard RUTF (
conclusionThe lower-cost alternative RUTF was less effective than standard RUTF in the treatment of severe and moderate malnutrition in Ghana.
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