Stunting is associated with poor outcomes in XXXX .

@entity1 @entity26 @entity115 @entity55
OBJECTIVE: Stunting affects 26.7% of @entity1 worldwide, and little is known about its effects on the outcomes of @entity55 . We evaluated the effect of stunting on the outcomes of @entity55 among @entity1 enrolled in two large clinical trials. METHODS: We analysed data from two WHO and USAID-sponsored inpatient treatment trials, the Severe Pneumonia Evaluation Antimicrobial Research study (n  =  958) and the @entity115 Penicillin Pneumonia International Study (n  =  1702), which enrolled @entity1 aged 2-59  months across 16 sites in LMICs. We assessed the effect of stunting (height-for-age Z score  <  -2) on treatment outcome and time to resolution of hypoxaemic @entity55 . RESULTS: Among 2542 (96%) @entity1 with valid data for height, 28% were stunted and 12.8% failed treatment by 5  days. The failure rate among stunted @entity1 was 16.0% vs. 11.5% among non-stunted @entity1 [unadjusted RR  =  1.24 (95% CI 1.08, 1.41); adjusted RR  =  1.28 (95% CI 1.10, 1.48)]. An inverse relationship was observed between height and failure rates, even among non-stunted @entity1 . Among 845 @entity1 with hypoxaemic @entity55 , stunting was associated with a lower probability of normalisation of respiratory rate [HR  =  0.63 (95% CI 0.52, 0.75)] and @entity26 saturation [HR  =  0.74 (95% CI 0.61, 0.89)]. CONCLUSIONS: Stunting increases the risk of treatment failure and is associated with a longer course of recovery in @entity1 with @entity55 . Strategies to decrease stunting may decrease the burden of adverse outcomes in @entity55 in low-resource settings.
