RESUMO
INTRODUCTION: The consequences of severe acute malnutrition are measured in terms of health and survival, but also of cognitive development, its productivity and the overall national economy. Its management requires enormous financial resources. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of treating severe acute malnutrition versus cost of treatment of severe acute malnutrition in children. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study of 199 children aged 0-59 months admitted to the Centre for Nutritional Recovery and Education in Kaya, Burkina Faso, from January to December 2014. The cost of treatment, the length of stay in the Centre for Nutritional Recovery and Education, daily weight gain and the speed of recovery were analyzed based on the standards calculation methods. Mann-Whitney test and Kruskall-Wallis test were used to compare the medians (0.05 threshold). RESULTS: As expected, children aged 6-23 months were the most affected (51.8%) and acute respiratory infections were the most associated diseases (57.9%). The median length of stay in the Centre for Nutritional Recovery and Education was 9.0 (7.0-13.0) days, the mean speed of recovery was 100.0 (65.8 - 143.3) g/day and the average daily weight gain was 18.1 (11.6 - 27.7) g/kg/day. The average cost of treatment in a malnourished child is estimated to be 15 715,3 FCFA (25.2 USD). CONCLUSION: The cost of treatment is hardly affordable by the parents of malnourished children; hence the necessity for government and development partners interventions.
