Mid-upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) and injury characteristics in hospitalized patients in an emergency department of North Tanzania

Background: The impact of malnutrition on the outcomes of hospitalized adult patients in resource-limited settings is not fully described. We aimed to report our observation of the comparison made between mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) and injury outcomes in adults admitted to the Emergency Department of a hospital in Moshi, Tanzania. Methods: This study was a secondary analysis based on an on-going Trauma registry collected by researchers from the Duke Global Health Institute at Duke University in collaboration with the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) from April 2018 until April 2020. Results: Females were significantly more likely to have higher MUAC scores than males (B=1.90; SE=0.49; p-value=0.000). Compared to single patients, those married were more likely to have higher MUAC (B=1.28; SE=0.48; p-value=0.007). Compared to advanced education, patients identified with basic education were less likely to have higher MUAC (B=-1.46; SE=0.42; p-value=0.000). Although glasgow outcome was not significantly associated with MUAC score in our univariate analysis (B=-1.20; SE=1.46; p-value=0.41), in our adjusted model, lower good recovery were less likely to have higher muac scores then other glasgow outcomes (B=-2.02; SE=0.73; p-value=0.000). Conclusions: Undernutrition in hospital patients is often unrecognized and there is a need for simple means of screening to facilitate targeted nutritional intervention. Further research is needed to understand the pathophysiology of malnutrition during acute illness and validate MUAC cut-off points for hospitalized adults.