Characterization of acute malnutrition in children under 5 years of age diagnosed at the Hospital Regional de la Orinoquía

Abstract

Introduction: Child malnutrition most severely affects the population under five years of age; its diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up should follow the guidelines for the integrated management of acute malnutrition in children aged 0 to 59 months (Resolution 2350 of 2020). Objective: We did a characterization of acute malnutrition in children under 5 years of age diagnosed in the hospital and verified adherence to management guidelines. Materials and methods: An observational, descriptive, and retrospective study was conducted, and SIVIGILA notification forms were collected from January 2017 to August 2021 in the Hospital Regional de la Orinoquía. The database was recorded in Excel version 2013 and analyzed in SPSS version 22. Results: 146 children with confirmed malnutrition were obtained, 58.22% male, 78.77% from the municipal capital, and 19.86% belonging to indigenous ethnic groups; only 45.97% of the cases requiring brachial perimeter measurement had such a measure; 42.47% of the cases received less than six months of breastfeeding; 26.03% started complementary feeding before six months of age; 14.4% received therapeutic management as indicated by Resolution 2350 of 2020; the case fatality rate was 1.4%. Conclusions: There was evidence of low measurement of the brachial perimeter in situations where it was indicated, as well as low adherence to guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute malnutrition. Further studies to characterize the population and intervene in evident risk factors such as low maternal education or poor breastfeeding will help reduce malnutrition rates.