Admissions and surgery as indicators of hospital functions in Sierra Leone during the west-African Ebola outbreak.

Background: In an attempt to assess the effects of the Ebola viral disease (EVD) on hospital functions in Sierra Leone, the aim of this study was to evaluate changes in provisions of surgery and non-Ebola admissions during the first year of the EVD outbreak.

Methods: All hospitals in Sierra Leone known to perform inpatient surgery were assessed for non-Ebola admissions, volume of surgery, caesarean deliveries and inguinal hernia repairs between January 2014 and May 2015, which was a total of 72 weeks. Accumulated weekly data were gathered from readily available hospital records at bi-weekly visits during the peak of the outbreak from September 2014 to May 2015.

Learning Curve Characteristics for Caesarean Section Among Associate Clinicians: A Prospective Study from Sierra Leone.

Background: In response to the high maternal mortality ratio, Sierra Leone has adopted an associate clinician postgraduate surgical task-sharing training programme. Little is known about learning curve characteristics for caesarean sections among associate clinicians. The aim of this study is to evaluate the number of caesarean sections needed to be performed by associate clinicians until there is no further significant reduction in operation time.

Safety, productivity and predicted contribution of a surgical task-sharing programme in Sierra Leone.

Background: Surgical task-sharing may be central to expanding the provision of surgical care in low-resource settings. The aims of this paper were to describe the set-up of a new surgical task-sharing training programme for associate clinicians and junior doctors in Sierra Leone, assess its productivity and safety, and estimate its future role in contributing to surgical volume.

Methods: This prospective observational study from a consortium of 16 hospitals evaluated crude in-hospital mortality over 5 years and productivity of operations performed during and after completion of a 3-year surgical training programme.

[Availability of antimalarial agents in Dutch hospitals].

Objective: To investigate the availability of antimalarial agents for the treatment of falciparum malaria in all Dutch hospital pharmacies, including changes in the situation over a period of two years.

Design: Descriptive.

Method: In the period October 2006 to March 2007 all Dutch hospital pharmacies were questioned about the availability of antimalarial agents, by means of a telephone survey.