Table 1 Severe acute malnutrition: quality assessment of evidence at the category level
| Â | QUALITY ASSESSMENT | SUMMARY OF FINDINGS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number of studies | Design | Limitations | Consistency | Generalizability to population of interest | Events in intervention group | Events in control group | Effect size (95% CI) |
Mortality: Moderate outcome specific quality | Risk Ratio | ||||||
3 | quasi-experimental | 1 moderate/low, 2 moderate/high quality studies | Inconsistent direction of effect, I2 = 0 | Children 10-60 months presenting to nutrition rehabilitation units in Malawi | 25 | 15 | 0.77 (0.40, 1.50) |
Recovery rate: Low outcome specific quality | Risk Ratio | ||||||
3 | quasi-experimental | 1 moderate/low, 2 moderate/high quality studies | Consistent direction of effect to varying degree, I2 = 92% | Children 10-60 months presenting to nutrition rehabilitation units in Malawi | 148 | 155 | 1.51 (1.04, 2.20) |
Rate of height gain: Moderate/low outcome specific quality | Mean Difference | ||||||
3 | quasi-experimental | 1 moderate/low, 2 moderate/high quality studies | Inconsistent direction of effect, I2 = 40% | Children 10-60 months presenting to nutrition rehabilitation units in Malawi | N/A | N/A | 0.14 (0.05, 0.22) |
Rate of MUAC gain: Moderate/low outcome specific quality | Mean Difference | ||||||
3 | quasi-experimental | 1 moderate/low, 2 moderate/high quality studies | Inconsistent direction of effect, I2 = 0 | Children 10-60 months presenting to nutrition rehabilitation units in Malawi | N/A | N/A | 0.11 (0.05, 0.18) |
Rate of weight gain (RUTF vs. standard care): Moderate outcome specific quality | Mean Difference | ||||||
3 | quasi-experimental | 1 moderate/low, 2 moderate/high quality studies | Consistent direction of effect to varying degree, I2 = 49% | Children 10-60 months presenting to nutrition rehabilitation units in Malawi | N/A | N/A | 1.27 (0.16, 2.38) |
Rate of weight gain (imported vs. locally-produced RUTF): Moderate/low outcome specific quality | Mean Difference | ||||||
2 | quasi-experimental, RCT | 1 moderate/high and 1 low quality study | Consistent direction of effect, I2 = 0% | Children 6-60 months presenting to feeding clinics, studies in Malawi and Senegal | N/A | N/A | 0.53 (-0.57 to 1.63) |