Epidemiology and outcomes of geriatric trauma patients consulting at the center hospitalier universitaire de Kigali emergency department.

Background: Life expectancy in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) continues to rise, resulting in a growing geriatric population. In Rwanda, a sub-Saharan LMIC, traumatic injuries are a common cause of mortality and morbidity. However, little is known about the frequency and type of traumatic injuries among geriatric populations in Rwanda.

Characteristics, physiology and mortality of intubated patients in an emergency care population in sub-Saharan Africa: a prospective cohort study from Kigali, Rwanda.

Background: Formalised emergency departments (ED) are in early development in sub-Saharan Africa and there are limited data on emergency airway management in those settings. This study evaluates characteristics and outcomes of ED endotracheal intubation, as well as risk factors for mortality, at a teaching hospital in Rwanda.

Methods: This was a prospective observational study of consecutive patients requiring endotracheal intubation at the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali ED conducted between 1 January and 31 December 2017.

Developing sustainable prehospital trauma education in Rwanda.

Introduction: Every year, >5 million people worldwide die from trauma. In Kigali, Rwanda, 50% of prehospital care provided by SAMU, the public prehospital system, is for trauma. Our collaboration developed and implemented a context-specific, prehospital Emergency Trauma Care Course (ETCC) and train-the-trainers program for SAMU, based on established international best practices.

Transfusion, mortality and hemoglobin level: Associations among emergency department patients in Kigali, Rwanda.

Background: Studies from high-income countries (HIC) support restrictive blood transfusion thresholds in medical patients. In low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), the etiologies of anemia and baseline health states differ greatly; optimal transfusion thresholds are unknown. This study evaluated the association of packed red blood cell (PRBC) transfusion with mortality outcomes across hemoglobin levels amongst emergency center (EC) patients presenting with medical pathology in Kigali, Rwanda.

Validation of a wearable biosensor device for vital sign monitoring in septic emergency department patients in Rwanda.

Objective: Critical care capabilities needed for the management of septic patients, such as continuous vital sign monitoring, are largely unavailable in most emergency departments (EDs) in low- and middle-income country (LMIC) settings. This study aimed to assess the feasibility and accuracy of using a wireless wearable biosensor device for continuous vital sign monitoring in ED patients with suspected sepsis in an LMIC setting.

Methods: This was a prospective observational study of pediatric (≥2 mon) and adult patients with suspected sepsis at the Kigali University Teaching Hospital ED.

Impact of emergency medicine training implementation on mortality outcomes in Kigali, Rwanda: An interrupted time-series study.

Introduction: Although emergency medicine (EM) training programmes have begun to be introduced in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), minimal data exist on their effects on patient-centered outcomes in such settings. This study evaluated the impact of EM training and associated systems implementation on mortality among patients treated at the University Teaching Hospital-Kigali (UTH-K).

Methods: At UTH-K an EM post-graduate diploma programme was initiated in October 2013, followed by a residency-training programme in August 2015.

African Federation for Emergency Medicine's Francophone Working Group - May 2018 Report.

Even though the African Federation for Emergency Medicine (AFEM) has been successfully developing emergency care in Africa for the past nine years, a considerable amount of potential AFEM members from the African-Francophone countries are not able to access AFEM resources. In response, an AFEM Francophone Working Group has been created to coordinate all existing and new initiatives to promote emergency care in African-Francophone countries.

Major incident simulation in Rwanda: A report of two exercises.

Introduction: Healthcare systems must be equipped to handle major incidents. Few have been described in the African setting, including in Rwanda. The purpose of this case report was to describe and discuss two major incident simulations in Rwanda with different challenges.

Epidemiologic Characteristics of Pediatric Trauma Patients Receiving Prehospital Care in Kigali, Rwanda.

Background: Pediatric trauma is a significant public health problem in resource-constrained settings; however, the epidemiology of injuries is poorly defined in Rwanda. This study describes the characteristics of pediatric trauma patients transported to the emergency department (ED) of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Kigali by emergency medical services in Kigali, Rwanda.

Methods: This cohort study was conducted at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Kigali from December 2012 to February 2015.

Focused assessment with sonography for HIV-associated tuberculosis (FASH) case series from a Rwandan district hospital.

Introduction: The majority of HIV-TB co-infection worldwide is reported in Africa. The risk of developing extra-pulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) increases as immune deficiency progresses but is difficult to diagnose. Point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) can be an effective adjunct to identify and treat EPTB-associated findings using the focused assessment with sonography for HIV-associated TB (FASH) protocol.

State of emergency medicine in Rwanda 2015: an innovative trainee and trainer model.

The 1994 Rwandan war and genocide left more than 1 million people dead; millions displaced; and the country's economic, social, and health infrastructure destroyed. Despite remaining one of the poorest countries in the world, Rwanda has made remarkable gains in health, social, and economic development over the last 20 years, but modern emergency care has been slow to progress. Rwanda has recently established the Human Resources for Health program to rapidly build capacity in multiple sectors of its healthcare delivery system, including emergency medicine.