Effect of Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) Supplement After an Episode of Malaria Falciparum on Weight

The Effectiveness of Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) in Catch up Growth in Children After an Episode of P. Falciparum Malaria

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT00819858

Enrollment

180

Registered

2009-01-09

Start date

2009-01-31

Completion date

2009-03-31

Last updated

2013-10-16

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Convalescence, Malaria, Weight Gain, Weight Loss

Keywords

weight loss, weight gain, malnutrition, convalescence, malaria, RUTF, RUF, supplementation, nutrition

Brief summary

The primary objective of this study is to determine to what extent provision with RUTF will promote catch up growth in children following an acute uncomplicated episode of P. falciparum malaria.

Detailed description

Anorexia due to infection might lead to weight loss. In many settings total recovery is problematic what might result in a permanent lower weight. A short period high quality food supplementation could improve weight gain after an infection. Children aged 6-59 months presenting with malaria caused by P. falciparum who are provided with a RUTF supplement (Plumpynut®) of 500 kcal/day for 2 weeks will show significantly better catch up growth compared to a similar patient group not provided with RUTF (at 2 weeks and 4 weeks post-intervention).

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTRUTF (Plumpynut®)

Intervention group receives 500 kcal/day of RUTF for 2 weeks Control group receives no food supplement

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

6 Months to 59 Months

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Age 6 to 59 months, and * Positive rapid diagnostic test (Paracheck®) and * Thick smear showing infection with P. falciparum and * Informed consent from parents or guardian aged at least 18 years.

Exclusion criteria

* Children who are exclusively breast fed or * Children who are severely malnourished (MUAC \<110 mm and/or bilateral oedema, or WHO weight-for-Height criteria \<3 Z-scores) or * Presence of general danger signs or signs of severe malaria as defined by the WHO criteria, or * Known history of allergy to malaria drugs, or * Having a sibling enrolled in the study.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
weight gain	14 days

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
weight gain	28 days

Countries

Republic of the Congo

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Mar 26, 2026