Malian children with moderate acute malnutrition who are treated with lipid-based dietary supplements have greater weight gains and recovery rates than those treated with locally produced cereal-legume products: a community-based, cluster-randomized trial.

Study answer

What this study found

RUSF produced the best overall clinical response, with greater weight gain and sustained recovery than the other supplements, although it was more costly. CSB++ had intermediate results, while Misola and locally milled flour were less effective. Four children developed severe acute malnutrition with complications and were hospitalized during the study: 2 in the Misola group, 1 in the CSB++ group, 1 in the locally milled flour group, and 0 in the RUSF group. Overall, the findings support lipid-based supplements as the most effective option for treating moderate acute malnutrition in this…

Study & population

Community-based cluster-randomized trial in the Dioila Health District of rural Mali.

Intervention

Children with moderate acute malnutrition received one of four oral 12-week dietary supplements in the community: RUSF (Supplementary Plumpy) 92-g sachets daily, providing 500 kcal/day; CSB++ about 127 g/day from 1-kg weekly bags, providing 501 kcal/day; Misola about 125 g/day from 1-kg weekly bags, providing 500…

Key limitation

This was a single-district community trial with no placebo or no-treatment control, so the comparison is limited to active products.

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Original abstract