Data analysis
edema, nutritional edema, weight gain
REGRESSION, EDEMA
Data were analyzed through the statistical software Stata (15.0 version for windows) after cleaning with repeated checks. To explore demographic, clinical, and socioeconomic data, we used the median with an interquartile range (IQR) for asymmetric quantitative data and frequency with proportion for categorical data. To evaluate the difference in baseline characteristics Krusker wallis test was done in the continuous dataset of three supplements. Chi square test was done for categorical data set of baseline characteristics.As 47 infants had edema during enrolment, the rate of weight gain was calculated from the change of weight at hospital discharge to the end of study period. It was not possible to calculate WAZ during enrolment of patients with nutritional edema as it would not represent their actual Z score. To keep the uniformity of data, the change in LAZ was assessed from discharge to study completion.The effect of the supplements on the rate of weight gain of the infants as well as the change in LAZ from discharge to study completion was examined using multivariable linear regression models. The rate of weight gain model was adjusted for sex, age (in months), and WAZ at the time of discharge. The change in LAZ model was adjusted for sex, age (in months), and LAZ at the time of discharge. For a sensitivity analysis, we examined the effects of probiotic and synbiotic supplementation on weekly WAZ scores from the first week following enrollment to study completion in a mixed-effects multiple linear regression model specifying a random effect at the child level to account for within-child correlations. The mixed-effects model was adjusted for sex, age (in months), and WAZ at enrollment. We had 8 data points per infant in our total 8-week study period for WAZ. Three infants had edema in the first week following enrollment, so they were excluded and analysis were carried out on 64 infants. The strength of association was expressed as β (95% CI), where P < 0.05 was considered significant.