Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34494509›Full record

ArticlePaediatrics and international child health2021

Improving recognition and management of children with complicated severe acute malnutrition at a tertiary referral hospital in Malawi: a quality improvement initiative.

Bryan J Vonasek, Susan Mhango, Heather L Crouse, Temwachi Nyangulu, Wilfred Gaven, Emily Ciccone, Alexander Kondwani, Binita Patel, Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Pediatric Alliance for Child Health Improvement in Malawi at Kamuzu Central Hospital and Environs (PACHIMAKE)

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Paediatrics and international child health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.1field-weighted citation impact, top 55% 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

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. 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

10 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.

Bryan J VonasekDepartment Of Pediatrics, Baylor College Of Medicine, Houston, US.ORCID 0000-0002-5657-0980
Susan MhangoBaylor College Of Medicine Children's Foundation Malawi, Lilongwe, Malawi.
Heather L CrouseDepartment Of Pediatrics, Baylor College Of Medicine, Houston, US.
Temwachi NyanguluDepartment Of Paediatrics, Kamuzu Central Hospital, Lilongwe, Malawi.
Wilfred GavenMalawi College Of Health Sciences, Lilongwe, Malawi.
Emily CicconeDepartment Of Medicine, University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill USA.
Alexander KondwaniCentre Of Excellence For Nutrition, North West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa.
Binita PatelDepartment Of Pediatrics, Baylor College Of Medicine, Houston, US.
Elizabeth FitzgeraldDepartment Of Pediatrics, University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill USA.
Pediatric Alliance for Child Health Improvement in Malawi at Kamuzu Central Hospital and Environs (PACHIMAKE)
Baylor College of Medicine · USUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · USKamuzu Central Hospital · MWNorth-West University · ZA

Funding

Re-Entry Supplement: Investigation of Oral Microbial Enzymes for the Detection and Treatment of Periodontal DiseaseUL1TR002489 · NCATS · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI BUSE, JOHN BERNARD, SHAHEEN, NICHOLAS J · 2018 to 2022
$48.6M
North Carolina Translational & Clinical Sciences Institute (NC TraCS)UL1TR001111 · NCATS · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI BUSE, JOHN BERNARD, CAREY, TIMOTHY S · 2013 to 2017
$43.9M
NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR001111NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR002489
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSevere acute malnutrition (SAM) is common in low-income countries and is associated with high mortality in young children.

objectiveTo improve recognition and management of SAM in a tertiary hospital in Malawi.

methodsThe impact of multifaceted quality improvement interventions in process measures pertaining to the identification and management of SAM was assessed. Interventions included focused training for clinical staff, reporting process measures to staff, and mobile phone-based group messaging for enhanced communication. This initiative focused on children aged 6-36 months admitted to Kamuzu Central Hospital in Malawi from September 2019 to March 2020. Before-after comparisons were made with baseline data from the year before, and process measures within this intervention period which included three plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycles were compared.

resultsDuring the intervention period, 418 children had SAM and in-hospital mortality was 10.8%, which was not significantly different from the baseline period. Compared with the baseline period, there was significant improvement in the documentation of full anthropometrics on admission, blood glucose test within 24 hours of admission and HIV testing results by discharge. During the intervention period, amidst increasing patient census with each PDSA cycle, three process measures were maintained (documentation of full anthropometrics, determination of nutritional status and HIV testing results), and there was significant improvement in blood glucose documentation.

conclusionSignificant improvement in key quality measures represents early progress towards the larger goal of improving patient outcomes, most notably mortality, in children admitted with SAM.

Indexed as

Quality ImprovementSevere Acute MalnutritionChildChild, PreschoolHumansInfantMalawiNutritional StatusTertiary Care Centers; Malawiquality improvementSevere acute malnutrition

Identifiers

PMID34494509
PMCPMC8671256
OpenAlexW3198486859

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Registered trials

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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.