Response to Conventional Nutritional Treatment of Severely Malnourished Hospitalized Children in the Context of HIV Infection at Yekatit 12 Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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Background: The aim of this study was to describe the response to nutritional treatment of severely malnourished hospitalized children in relation to HIV infection Methods: The study was conducted in the paediatric wards of Yekatit 12 hospital, which is situated in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia serving as a referral hospital for clinics, health centers and hospitals situated in and out of Addis Ababa. It also serves as a teaching hospital for AAU Medical students and Residents. We studied 300 severely malnourished children (presence of oedema, weight for age < 60% on HC and/ or weight-for-height <70%). At admission, HIV serology was confirmed by ELISA, for children >18 months of age, and PCR (DBS) was performed for those <18 months and CD4+ cells were measured for those who turned out to be positive. Complete blood count (CBC), including differential counts, was determined using a Coulter counter and/or manually. The study is a prospective observational analytic cohort study. Result: Of the 300 children, 75 were HIV Positive (cases) and the remaining 225 were controls (1:3 ratio). There was no significant difference by sex, age group, site of residency, family in come, family educational status, medical illness, hematologic profiles, immune category and presence or absence of edema in the treatment out come of HIV infected children compared to uninfected once. Among HIV infected forty three (43/75) failed to respond to the nutritional intervention when compared to those who are not infected (225/38) (Adjusted OR = 6.61, 95%CI = 0.053, 0.423). Conclusion: HIV infection is a major challenge in addressing nutritional intervention for those children who are severely malnourished admitted in Yekatit 12 hospital. An intervention to alleviate the challenge in managing the problem has to be designed based on further interventional studies.