Survey of childhood malnutrition at Dili National Hospital, East Timor.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the characteristics and short-term outcomes of children with malnutrition admitted to Dili National Hospital (DNH), East Timor.


METHODS
A prospective observational survey using caretaker interviews and medical record review was conducted on the paediatric ward at DNH for 12 months from March 2002. Patients were children aged 2 months to 12 years, admitted with moderate to severe malnutrition as either a primary or secondary diagnosis.


RESULTS
Malnutrition was present in 31.8% (280/880) of paediatric admissions during the study period. Sixty-one per cent of the malnutrition cases were severe malnutrition (weight-for-height below -3 Z-scores and/or oedema) and 53.7% were both wasted and stunted. The hospital case-fatality rate was 12.9% (36/280). Immunization coverage was low, with 39% of cases never immunized and 29% incompletely immunized according to the national immunization schedule.


CONCLUSIONS
There is a high rate of malnutrition among paediatric inpatients at DNH, consistent with results of anthropometric surveys in the newly independent East Timor. Despite the introduction of a standardized protocol following WHO guidelines and associated training on the management of severe malnutrition, the hospital case-fatality rate for severe malnutrition was still high (12.9%).
Dili National Hospital, Dili, East Timor. ingbucens@hotmail.com
Ingrid K
IK
Bucens
Carolyn
C
Maclennan
D000886:Anthropometry; D002648:Child; D015362:Child Nutrition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D002669:Child Welfare; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015897:Comorbidity; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006779:Hospitals, Public; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit; D011446:Prospective Studies; D049648:Timor-Leste / Q000453:epidemiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome