10.3  Management of severe acute malnutrition in OTP

After completing the anthropometry, checking for complications and doing the appetite test, you will know which children with severe complicated malnutrition will be in need of immediate referral and those with severe uncomplicated malnutrition that can be treated at the health post level. As you read earlier, the out-patient treatment programme based on your health post or any other out-patient facility is called an OTP (out-patient therapeutic programme). Once a child is identified as having severe uncomplicated malnutrition, you should explain the condition of the child to the caregiver; register the child in the registration book and also on an individual patient follow-up card called the OTP Card (you will look at how to do this in Section 10.5 below).