Health scoring system could help reduce deaths among children with malnutrition in low-resource communities
New research co-led by the Center for Global Child Health at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) suggests that a new tool for use in low-resource settings can save lives and reduce the need for hospital stays among children receiving outpatient treatment for malnutrition.
A new health scoring system, developed at The Hospital for Sick Children, could save lives and reduce hospital stays for children with malnutrition in low-resource areas. Researchers in Chad studied over 10,000 patients and found that using the Responses to Illness Severity Quantification (RISQ) system resulted in a 0.47% mortality rate compared to 0.82% with standard care, and a 3.9% hospitalization rate compared to 6% with standard care.
RISQ builds on existing assessments by adding a structured scoring system that helps frontline health workers quickly identify seriously ill children and determine whether routine or hospital care is needed. The tool empowers community health workers to make informed decisions about treatment, reducing the need for families to travel to distant hospitals and potentially saving the lives of children who might otherwise deteriorate rapidly.
Written by urgent.news from Medical Xpress's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
