Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37437065›Full record

ArticlePloS one2023

Standard RUTF vs. locally-made RUSF for acutely malnourished children: A quasi-experimental comparison of the impact on growth and compliance in a rural community of Pakistan.

Azza Sarfraz, Sheraz Ahmed, Sajid Muhammad, Najeeb Rehman, Sanam Iram Soomro, Khaliq Qureshi, Sadaf Jakhro, Fayaz Umrani, Adam Greene, Sana Syed and 2 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 28% 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

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. 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

12 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Azza SarfrazDepartment of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.ORCID 0000-0001-8206-5745
Sheraz AhmedDepartment of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Sajid MuhammadDepartment of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Najeeb RehmanDepartment of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Sanam Iram SoomroDepartment of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Khaliq QureshiDepartment of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.ORCID 0000-0002-7211-2699
Sadaf JakhroDepartment of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Fayaz UmraniDepartment of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Adam GreeneDepartment of Pediatrics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America.
Sana SyedDepartment of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Sean R MooreDepartment of Pediatrics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America.
Syed Asad AliDepartment of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.ORCID 0000-0001-5274-7665
Aga Khan University · PKUniversity of Virginia · US

Funding

Computational Characterization of Environmental EnteropathyK23DK117061 · NIDDK · UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA · PI SYED, SANA · 2019 to 2023
$964k
NIDDK NIH HHS K23 DK117061
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe reduction in severe and moderate acute malnutrition (SAM and MAM) rates in Pakistan has been sub-optimal compared to other low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). Specially-formulated products have been designed globally to manage SAM and MAM, such as ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) and ready-to-use supplementary food (RUSF), with variable efficacies. RUTF is primarily produced and patented in industrialized countries, raising supply challenges in resource-constrained regions with a high burden of acute malnutrition. RUSF minimizes costs by using locally-available ingredients while providing similar nutritional value. In this study, we compared the efficacy, side effects, and compliance of two months of supplementation with either RUTF or RUSF.

methodsChildren aged nine months in the rural district of Matiari, Pakistan, with a weight-for-height z-score (WHZ) <-2 received either RUTF (500 kcal sachet) for two months in 2015 or RUSF (520 kcal sachet) for two months in 2018.

resultsThe RUSF group had a higher height gain and mid-upper arm circumferences (MUAC) score. Higher compliance was noted with lower side effects in the RUSF group. A higher compliance rate did correlate with the growth parameters in respective groups.

conclusionOur study found that both RUTF and RUSF partially improve the anthropometric status of acutely malnourished children, with neither being superior to the other.

Indexed as

Food, FormulatedInfant Nutrition DisordersSevere Acute MalnutritionAnthropometryFemaleHumansInfantMalePakistanRural PopulationTreatment Outcome

Identifiers

PMID37437065
PMCPMC10337979
OpenAlexW4384024835

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.