Time To Relapse of Severe Acute Malnutrition And Its Determinants Among Children Treated In The Health Posts of Hadiya Zone, Southern Ethiopia.

Abstract Back ground: In developing countries including Ethiopia, children under five years old are likely to suffer from repeated bouts of SAM. There is lack of study that documented time to relapse of SAM and its determinants. Objective: This study aimed to identify time of relapse and its determinants among children discharged after treatment for SAM in health facilities of Hadiya Zone, South, Ethiopia Methods: An institution based retrospective cohort study was carried out from data spanning from 2014/2015 to 2019/2020. After checking all the assumptions, multivariable CPH model was fitted to isolate independent determinants of time to relapse. All tests were two sided and statistical significance at P values <0.05. Result: The mean(±SD) time for relapse of SAM among under five children was 22(±9.9) weeks from discharge to relapse time. On multivariable CPH model, the hazard of relapse for SAM was significantly higher for children who had edema (AHR =2.02 ,95%, CI: 1.17-3.50), age of 6-11 months (AHR = 5.2, 95%, CI:1.95-13.87), had discharge low MUAC (AHR = 12,95%, CI: 7.90-19.52)Concussion: The finding showed that children discharged from SAM are likely to have relapse in 3 weeks.