Treatment of hypothermia in severely malnourished children

Severely malnourished children are particularly vulnerable to hypothermia, where the body’s core temperature drops below the required temperature for normal functions. When a severely malnourished child is hypothermic, WHO recommends warming the child by:

• placing the child on the mother’s bare chest or abdomen, then covering both individuals (the “kangaroo technique”);
• clothing the child (including the head), covering with a warmed blanket, and placing the child under an incandescent lamp, making sure that the lamp does not touch the child’s body.

During re-warming, temperature monitoring is important to avoid hyperthermia. Hypothermic children should also be treated for hypoglycaemia by frequent feeding, and given broad spectrum antimicrobials to treat serious systemic infections.