Publication of the OptiMA clinical trial in eClinicalMedicine concerning the most severely malnourished children

The GHiGS team, in partnership with the humanitarian NGO ALIMA and the National Nutrition Program of the Democratic Republic of Congo (RDC), had implemented a randomized clinical trial in Kasai, DRC, to evaluate a new strategy called “OptiMA,” in which acute malnourished children, regardless of the stage of illness, received a single nutritional treatment, ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTFs), in a progressively decreasing dosage as nutritional recovery occurred. Results demonstrating the superiority of this strategy overall had been published last year in The Lancet Global Health (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(22)00041-9/fulltext).

A second major paper around this clinical trial was published today in eClinicalMedicine, this time focusing on the most severely malnourished children. Although these children managed with the OptiMA strategy received less RUTF in their management, they were 96% cured, non-inferior to current management.