Probiotics for children with uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition (PruSAM study): A randomized controlled trial in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Background: Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) contributes to nearly 1 million deaths annually worldwide, with diarrhea and pneumonia being the common morbidity associated with mortality.

Objectives: To assess the effect of probiotics on diarrhea, pneumonia, and nutritional recovery in children with uncomplicated SAM.

Methods: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted involving 400 children with uncomplicated SAM randomly assigned to ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) either with (n = 200) or without (n = 200) probiotics.

Minimum acceptable diet among children aged 6-23 months in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo: a community-based cross-sectional study.

Background: Suboptimal child nutrition remains the main factor underlying child undernutrition in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This study aimed to assess the prevalence of minimum acceptable diet and associated factors among children aged 6-23 months old.

Methods: Community-based cross-sectional study including 742 mothers with children aged 6-23 months old was conducted in 2 Health Zones of South Kivu, Eastern DRC.

Effects of probiotics and synbiotics on diarrhea in undernourished children: Systematic review with meta-analysis.

Background: Undernutrition predisposes children to a greater incidence and duration of diarrhea. No review and meta-analysis have yet been conducted to assess effectiveness of probiotics and synbiotics in undernourished children.

Aims: To assess the effectiveness of probiotics and synbiotics on diarrhea in undernourished children.

Severe acute malnutrition in children admitted in an Intensive Therapeutic and Feeding Centre of South Kivu, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo: Why do our patients die?

Background: Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) remains a serious public health concern in low- and middle-income countries. Little is known about treatment outcomes of child inpatients in Intensive Therapeutic and Feeding Units. This study aimed to assess treatment outcomes of SAM and identify factors associated with mortality among children treated at Saint Joseph Nutritional Center, South Kivu, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Delayed initiation of breastfeeding in Bukavu, South Kivu, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Timely initiation of breastfeeding can decrease neonatal mortality. However, about 50% of newborns are not breastfeed within 1 h of birth in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with delayed initiation of breastfeeding in an urban and rural area of Bukavu, South Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo.

[Infectious profile and mortality of children aged 0-5 years admitted with severe acute malnutrition: a retrospective cohort study conducted in the Therapeutic Nutritional Center in Bukavu, Republic of Congo].

Introduction: Malnutrition is a backdrop on which several infections are grafted. The aim of this study is to determine the most lethal infections, the median length of stay and the median daily weight gain of malnourished children.

Method: A retrospective cohort study of malnutrition in children aged 0-59 months hospitalized in the Therapeutic Nutritional Center in Bukavu from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2013.