MUAC Community Website

Here is an article investigating the performance of visible severe wasting, MUAC, W/H in clinical settings.

The attached (low quality) photograph shows a MUAC strap of the "Shakir Strip" design developed by HelpAge International. The strap is 60 cm long, has a 1 mm graticule, and four colour bands (red = 0 to 22 cm, yellow = 22 to 23 cm, blue = 23 - 24 cm, and green = 24 - 55 cm). The tab reads "MUAC TAPE FOR OLDER PEOPLE IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA - Available from HelpAge International".

Can someone tell me in more details about the usefulness of MUAC for height? Can this be used in children > 5yrs to identify SAM?

In our facility-based SAM treatment center, we have observed that over the treatment period, along with the weight, the height of a child increases too. At the end of 8 weeks, when the new W/H z-score is considered, some children still seem to be SAM, even after gaining considerable weight. What is the interpretation?

Why aren't there any MUAC to identify SAM in children between 5 years - 12 years?

In a facility based management centre for SAM, how much MUAC increase is expected in a child in 2 weeks after starting him on RUTF such as Plumpy Nut if ...

1. The child gains between 0-5% of admission weight
2. Between 5-10% of admission weight
3. 10-15% of admission weight
4. >15% of admission weight
5. Achieves target weight of 15%

The cut-off for MUAC has been changed from <110 mm to <115 mm after the switch from NCHS references to WHO2006 references for W/H. Has there been any adaptation for the MUAC-based case definition for MAM?

After several trainings, reliability of MUAC at field level is still a concern in some of our projects. Is someone working in other types of tapes / strips or other more reliable tools to measure MUAC?