Management of moderate acute malnutrition in children in resource-limited countries

Authors: TREHAN, INDI - University Of Washington; MANARY, MARK - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)

Submitted to: UpToDate
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/1/2022
Publication Date: 7/6/2022
Citation: Trehan, I., Manary, M.J. 2022. Management of moderate acute malnutrition in children in resource-limited countries. In UpToDate. Available at: https://www.uptodate.com/contents/management-of-moderate-acute-malnutrition-in-children-in-resource-limited-countries

Interpretive Summary: This is a chapter in a textbook on how to treat children with malnutrition. The chapter contains standard knowledge and advice to physicians addressing this specific group of children.

Technical Abstract: Undernutrition is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children throughout resource-limited countries, particularly in tropical regions where children frequently suffer from a combination of prenatal malnutrition, pervasive poverty, food insecurity, and repeated bouts of vector-borne and fecal-oral infectious diseases. Chronic undernutrition, manifested as underweight and stunting, may begin in the prenatal period and continue over the lifetime of a child. This can lead to significant developmental and cognitive deficits and significantly increases the risk of death. Although the evidence base for the diagnosis, management, and prognosis for children with moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) is overall less well developed compared with severe acute malnutrition (SAM), there have been significant advances in this domain sufficient to develop general diagnosis and management recommendations. Among these advances has been the development of Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition approaches that screen and provide care for children with both MAM and SAM within the same setting and often using similar protocols.