The Spectrum of Pathogens Associated with Infections in African Children with Severe Acute Malnutrition: A Scoping Review.

Abstract

Understanding the interplay between infections and severe acute malnutrition is critical in attaining good clinical outcomes when managing malnourished children. However, review studies describing the profile of the associated pathogens in the malnourished African paediatric population are sparse in the literature. We aimed to identify the spectrum of pathogens from studies reporting infections in severely malnourished African children, as well as the antibiotic resistance pattern and clinical outcomes. A systematic literature review of the PubMed database was conducted following PRISMA guidelines from January 2001 to June 2024. The search algorithm was ((marasmus) OR (kwashiorkor) OR (severe acute malnutrition) OR (protein energy malnutrition)) AND (Africa). For a more comprehensive retrieval, an additional search algorithm was deployed: ((HIV) OR (tuberculosis)) AND (severe acute malnutrition). We included 60 studies conducted between 2001 and 2024. Most of the studies were from East Africa (n = 45, 75%) and Southern Africa (n = 5, 8.3%). A total of 5845 pathogens were identified comprising 2007 viruses, 2275 bacteria, 1444 parasites, and 119 fungal pathogens. The predominant pathogens were HIV, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and malaria parasites accounting for 33.8%, 30%, and 24.2% of pathogens identified. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was documented in only three studies. Fatality rates were reported in 45 studies and ranged from 2% to 56% regardless of the category of pathogen. This review affirms the deleterious effect of infections in malnourished patients and suggests a gross underdiagnosis as studies were found from only 17 (31.5%) African countries. Moreover, data on fungal infections in severely malnourished African children were nearly absent despite this population being at risk. Thus, there is an urgent need to prioritize research investigating African children with severe acute malnutrition for fungal infections besides other pathogens and improve the availability of diagnostic tools and the optimized usage of antibiotics through the implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programmes.