Cost- effectiveness of a simplified acute malnutrition program: a secondary analysis of the OptiMA randomized clinical trial in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Acute malnutrition (AM) causes large loss of life and disability in children in Africa. Researchers are testing innovative approaches to increase efficiency of treatment programs. This paper presents results of a cost-effectiveness analysis of one such program in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) based on a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial Optimizing Treatment for Acute Malnutrition (OptiMA), conducted in DRC in 2018-20.

Factors associated with non-response and nutrional status of non-responders at 6-month post-discharge: a cohort study nested in a MUAC-based nutrition programme for acutely malnourished children in Mirriah, Niger.

Background: In the treatment of acute malnutrition (AM), non-response is considered a treatment failure for not meeting recovery criteria within a therapeutic window of 12-16 weeks, but this category of children is misunderstood. As current research emphasizes ways to simplify and optimize treatment protocols, non-response emerges as a new issue to enhance program efficiency.

Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted from 2019 to 2020 at two health centres in Mirriah, Niger among children aged 6-59 months with uncomplicated AM treated under the Optimising treatment for Acute MAlnutrition (OptiMA) protocol.

Treatment outcomes and associated factors for hospitalization of children treated for acute malnutrition under the OptiMA simplified protocol: a prospective observational cohort in rural Niger.

Introduction: Globally, access to treatment for severe and moderate acute malnutrition is very low, in part because different protocols and products are used in separate programs. New approaches, defining acute malnutrition (AM) as mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) < 125 mm or oedema, are being investigated to compare effectiveness to current programs. Optimizing Malnutrition treatment (OptiMA) is one such strategy that treats AM with one product - ready-to-use therapeutic food, or RUTF - at reduced dosage as the child improves.

Optimising the dosage of ready-to-use therapeutic food in children with uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: a non-inferiority, randomised controlled trial.

Background: Current standard management of severe acute malnutrition uses ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) at a single weight-based calculation resulting in an increasing amount of RUTF provided to the family as the child's weight increases during recovery. Using RUTF at a gradually reduced dosage as the child recovers could reduce costs while achieving similar growth response.

Methods: We conducted an open-label, non-inferiority, randomised controlled trial in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.