Universal versus conditional day 3 follow-up for children with non-severe unclassified fever at the community level in Ethiopia: A cluster-randomised non-inferiority trial.

ABSTRACT:

Background

With declining malaria prevalence and improved use of malaria diagnostic tests, an increasing proportion of children seen by community health workers (CHWs) have unclassified fever. Current community management guidelines by WHO advise that children seen with non-severe unclassified fever (on day 1) should return to CHWs on day 3 for reassessment. We compared the safety of conditional follow-up reassessment only in cases where symptoms do not resolve with universal follow-up on day 3.

Methods and findings

We undertook a 2-arm cluster-randomised controlled non-inferiority trial among children aged 2-59 months presenting with fever and without malaria, pneumonia, diarrhoea, or danger signs to 284 CHWs affiliated with 25 health centres (clusters) in Southern Nations,

SUBMITTER: Kallander K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5903591 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature