Publications by authors named "A M Van Niekerk"
Klebsiella pneumoniae (KPn) colonizes multiple anatomical sites and is a leading cause of invasive disease and death in African children; however, there is no comparative genomic analysis between colonizing and invasive strains. This study investigated the genomic relatedness of KPn colonizing and invasive isolates in South African infants; and evaluated the relative invasiveness of KPn isolates based on sequence types (ST), capsular (KL), and lipopolysaccharide (O) loci by calculating case-carrier ratios (CCRs). There was less genomic diversity amongst invasive (22 ST, 17 K-loci) than colonizing isolates (31 ST, 29 K-loci), with invasive isolates being 8.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Research on the contextual drivers of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programme interventions in neonatal units is limited.
Methods: As part of a prospective mixed-methods multidisciplinary neonatal AMS (NeoAMS) interventional study in 14 South African hospitals, we applied a three-phased process to assess implementation barriers and contextual drivers experienced by participating health professionals. The study included: (Phase one; P1) a survey of pre-intervention barriers and enablers; (P2) written feedback during the study intervention phase; and (P3) semi-structured exit interviews.
Article Synopsis
- The study highlights a 1-year delay in how the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) affects extratropical climates, revealing that this response connects with the Arctic Oscillation and is particularly pronounced in the North Atlantic, resembling the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO).
- Unexpectedly, the delayed effects are found to be as strong as the more widely recognized immediate winter impacts, but they occur with opposite signs: a positive NAO follows El Niño and a negative NAO follows La Niña after one year.
- The findings suggest that these lagged responses are not due to overlapping ENSO cycles but are instead driven by changes in atmospheric angular momentum, which could improve our understanding of climate patterns and enhance climate prediction accuracy.
Article Synopsis
- Lack of comprehensive data on congenital disorders (CDs) in South Africa affects resource distribution and detection of risks from harmful pregnancy exposures.
- A study using the Western Cape Pregnancy Exposure Registry analyzed data from 2016 to 2022, finding a confirmed prevalence of major CDs at 7.2 per 1,000 births, which increased to 9.2 when including missed diagnoses.
- Factors such as older maternal age and diabetes raised CD prevalence, while HIV status and other conditions did not significantly impact rates; improving neonatal checks and records could enhance CD detection.
This article provides a comprehensive overview of calcium physiology, clinical presentation with physical examination findings, laboratory assessment, differential diagnosis, and management of hypocalcemia and hypercalcemia for the primary care provider.
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