Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31555441›Full record

Observational studyJournal of global health2019

Examining the effectiveness of zinc treatment in children admitted with diarrhoea in Kenya's public hospitals: an observational comparative effectiveness study.

Lucas Malla, Rafael Perera-Salazar, Samuel Akech, Morris Ogero, Thomas Julius, Grace Irimu, Mike English, CIN author group*

Open access · goldAbstract readComparative StudyObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in Journal of global health, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 41% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Lucas MallaNuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Rafael Perera-SalazarNuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Samuel AkechKenya Medical Research Institute-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Nairobi, Kenya.
Morris OgeroKenya Medical Research Institute-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Nairobi, Kenya.
Thomas JuliusKenya Medical Research Institute-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Nairobi, Kenya.
Grace IrimuKenya Medical Research Institute-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Nairobi, Kenya.
Mike EnglishNuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
CIN author group*
Kenya Medical Research Institute · KEUniversity of Oxford · GB

Funding

Wellcome Trust 207522/Z/17/Z
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundKenyan paediatric treatment protocols recommend the use of zinc supplement for all children with diarrhoea. However, there is limited evidence of benefit for young children aged 1-5 months and those who are well-nourished. We examine effectiveness of zinc supplementation for children admitted with diarrhoea to Kenya's public hospitals with different nutritional and age categories. This is to determine whether the current policy where zinc is prescribed for all children with diarrhoea is appropriate.

methodsWe explore the effect of zinc treatment on time to discharge for children aged 1-5 and 6-59 months and amongst those classified as either severely - moderately under-nourished or well-nourished. To overcome the challenges associated with non-random allocation of treatments and missing data in these observational data, we use propensity score methods and multiple imputation to minimize bias.

resultsThe analysis included 1645 (1-5 months) and 11 546 (6-59 months) children respectively. The estimated sub-distribution hazard ratios for being discharged in the zinc group vs the non-zinc group were 1.25 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.07, 1.46) and 1.17 (95% CI = 1.10, 1.24) in these respective age categories. Zinc treatment was associated with shorter time to discharge in both well and under-nourished children.

conclusionZinc treatment, in general, was associated with shorter time to discharge. In the absence of significant adverse effects, these data support the continued use of zinc for admissions with diarrhoea including those aged 1-5 months and in those who are well-nourished.

Indexed as

Hospitals, PublicAge FactorsChild, PreschoolDiarrheaFemaleHealth PolicyHospitalizationHumansInfantKenyaMaleNutritional StatusPatient DischargeTime FactorsTreatment OutcomeZincZinc

Identifiers

PMID31555441
PMCPMC6748787
OpenAlexW2974766824

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.