High-Energy Feeding for Protein-Calorie Malnutrition

The efficacy of high-energy feeding regimens in the nutritional resuscitation of severely malnourished children is established, but most reports come from specialist units, We devised a high-energy feeding mixture using locally available ingredients and applied it in service conditions on 275 unse1ected children. After an initial stabilization period, children were fed 150 kcal/kg/day and protein 4 g/kg/day. The weight gain achieved for the whole series was 8.93 g/kg/day. For the different diagnostic categories the weight gains were: 12.11 g/kg/day for children with marasmic kwashiorkor; 10.01 g/kg/day for children with kwashiorkor; 7.49 g/kg/day for children with marasmus; and 6.39 g/kg/day for children who were underweight. The hospital case fatality was 4.4%. These figures show that rural hospitals can devise and apply high-energy feeding regimens and obtain results as good as those obtained in specialist units