Table 1.
Comparison of children identified by lay-screeners on the ward meeting NCHS criteria for SAM initially missed by standard of care clinician referral vs. standard of care NRU admissions
| Standard of care Clinician Referral to NRU by NCHS criteria N = 534 N(%) | Intervention Lay-Screener Referral to NRU by NCHS criteria N = 210 N(%) | p | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age in months | <0.001 | |||
| 6–11.9 | 79 (14.8) | 65 (31.0) | ||
| 12–23.9 | 222 (41.6) | 85 (40.5) | ||
| 24–35.9 | 142 (26.6) | 35 (16.7) | ||
| 36–60 | 91 (17.0) | 25 (11.9) | ||
| Median age (IQR) | 16.1 (11.7–24.0) | 12.7 (9.5–21.6) | <0.001 | |
| Gender | ||||
| Male | 271 (50.7) | 103 (49.0) | 0.676 | |
| Female | 263 (49.3) | 107 (51.0) | ||
| Edema | ||||
| Yes | 426 (79.8) | 97 (46.2) | <0.001 | |
| No | 108 (20.2) | 113 (53.8) | ||
| MUAC < 110mm | ||||
| Yes | 196 (36.7) | 108 (51.4) | <0.001 | |
| No | 338 (63.3) | 102 (48.6) | ||
| Median MUAC (IQR) | 100 (90–110) | 105 (100–110) | 0.004 | |
| Weight for Height (WFH), n/Na | ||||
| NCHS WFH < 70%b | 31/108 (28.7) | 45/113 (39.8) | 0.082 | |
| Median NCHS WFH % (IQR) | 74.6 (68.7–82.3) | 74.1 (66.9–82.7) | 0.593 | |
| Mean WHO WFH z-score (SD) | −3.3 (1.6) | −3.3 (2.1) | 0.928 | |
| Diedc | 38 (7.1) | 15 (7.1) | 0.990 |
SAM, severe acute malnutrition; NCHS, National Center for Health Statistics; NRU, nutritional rehabilitation unit; IQR, interquartile range; MUAC, mid-upper arm circumference; mm, millimeters; SD, standard deviation.
aDenominator excludes children with edema.
b% of NCHS median.
cDied during hospitalization.