Background: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure performed to restore heart function to minimize anoxic injury to the brain following cardiac arrest. Despite the establishment of emergency department and training on Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) the outcomes of pediatric in-hospital cardiac arrest have not been documented. We ought to determine the outcomes and factors associated with 24-h survival after pediatric in-hospital cardiac arrests at MNH in Tanzania.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Hospital admission due to breathlessness carries a significant burden to patients and healthcare systems, particularly impacting people in low-income countries. Prompt appropriate treatment is vital to improve outcomes, but this relies on accurate diagnostic tests which are of limited availability in resource-constrained settings. We will provide an accurate description of acute breathlessness presentations in a multicentre prospective cohort study in Malawi, a low resource setting in Southern Africa, and explore approaches to strengthen diagnostic capacity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The prevalence of multimorbidity (the presence of two or more chronic health conditions) is rapidly increasing in sub-Saharan Africa. Hospital care pathways that focus on single presenting complaints do not address this pressing problem. This has the potential to precipitate frequent hospital readmissions, increase health system and out-of-pocket expenses, and may lead to premature disability and death.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Children with seizures require immediate and appropriate intervention in the emergency department (ED). This study describes the clinical profile and outcome of paediatric patients with seizures at the ED in a country with limited resources.
Design: A prospective, observational cohort study of paediatric patients with seizure presenting to an ED conducted over a six-month period from 1 August 2019 to 31 January2020.
Background: Hypertensive crisis is among the causes of morbidity and mortality in adult patients with hypertension in Sub-Saharan Africa. We aimed to determine the burden, risk factors and describe the management strategies of hypertensive crisis among adult patients seen at emergency departments of district and regional hospitals in Tanzania.
Methods: This was a prospective multicenter longitudinal study which included all 162 district and regional hospitals in Tanzania.
Background: Critically ill patients have life-threatening conditions requiring immediate vital organ function intervention. But, critical illness in the emergency department (ED) has not been comprehensively described in resource-limited settings. Understanding the characteristics and dynamics of critical illness can help hospitals prepare for and ensure the continuum of care for critically ill patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is a high burden of critical illness in low-income countries (LICs), adding pressure to already strained health systems. Over the next decade, the need for critical care is expected to grow due to ageing populations with increasing medical complexity; limited access to primary care; climate change; natural disasters; and conflict. In 2019, the 72nd World Health Assembly emphasised that an essential part of universal health coverage is improved access to effective emergency and critical care and to "ensure the timely and effective delivery of life-saving health care services to those in need".
View Article and Find Full Text PDF[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Low-and middle-income countries account for over 80% of fall-related fatalities globally. However there is little emphasis on the issue and limited high quality data to understand the burden, and to inform preventive and management strategies. We characterise the burden of fall injuries in Malawi and Tanzania.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlobally, respiratory diseases cause 10 million deaths every year. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the burden of respiratory illness increased and led to significant morbidity and mortality in both high- and low-income countries. This study assessed the burden and trend of respiratory conditions among patients presenting to the emergency department of Muhimbili National Hospital in Tanzania and compared with national COVID-19 data to determine if this knowledge may be useful for the surveillance of disease outbreaks in settings of limited specific diagnostic testing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: We aimed to determine the out-of-pocket (OOP) costs for medical care of injured patients and the proportion of patients encountering catastrophic costs.
Design: Prospective cohort study SETTING: Emergency department (ED) of a tertiary-level hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Participants: Injured adult patients seen at the ED of Muhimbili National Hospital from August 2019 to March 2020.
Background: Polytrauma patients require special facilities to care for their injuries. In HICs, these patients are rapidly transferred from the scene or the first-health facility directly to a trauma center. However, in many LMICs, prehospital systems do not exist and there are long delays between arrivals at the first-health facility and the trauma center.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Mortality among under-five children in Tanzania remains high. While early presentation for treatment increases likelihood of survival, delays to care are common and factors causing delay to presentation among critically ill children are unknown. In this study delay was defined as presentation to the emergency department of tertially hospital i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The survival of children who suffer cardiac arrest is poor. This study aimed to determine the predictors and outcome of cardiac arrest in paediatric patients presenting to an emergency department of a tertiary hospital in Tanzania.
Methodology: This was a prospective cohort study of paediatric patients > 1 month to ≤ 14 years presenting to Emergency Medicine Department of Muhimbili National Hospital (EMD) in Tanzania from September 2019 to January 2020 and triaged as Emergency and Priority.
Objectives: The WHO developed a 5-day basic emergency care (BEC) course using the traditional lecture format. However, adult learning theory suggests that lecture-based courses alone may not promote long-term knowledge retention. We assessed whether a mobile application adjunct (BEC app) can have positive impact on knowledge acquisition and retention compared with the BEC course alone and evaluated perceptions, acceptability and barriers to adoption of such a tool.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: High-income country (HIC) authors are disproportionately represented in authorship bylines compared with those affiliated with low and middle-income countries (LMICs) in global health research. An assessment of authorship representation in the global emergency medicine (GEM) literature is lacking but may inform equitable academic collaborations in this relatively new field.
Methods: We conducted a bibliometric analysis of original research articles reporting studies conducted in LMICs from the annual GEM Literature Review from 2016 to 2020.
Introduction: Altered mental status (AMS) in the Emergency Department (ED) can be associated with morbidity and mortality. In high income countries, mortality rate is under 10% for patients presenting with AMS. There is a paucity of data on the profile and mortality amongst this group of patients in limited income countries.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPediatric sepsis remains a significant cause of childhood morbidity and mortality, disproportionately affecting resource-limited settings. As more patients survive, it is paramount that we improve our understanding of post-sepsis morbidity and its impact on functional outcomes. The functional status scale (FSS) is a pediatric validated outcome measure quantifying functional impairment, previously demonstrating decreased function following critical illnesses, including sepsis, in resource-rich settings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Trauma is among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among pediatric and adolescent populations worldwide, with over ninety percent of childhood injuries occurring in low-income and middle-income countries. Lack of region-specific data on pediatric injuries is among the major challenges limiting the ability of health systems to implement interventions to prevent injuries and improve outcomes. We aim to characterize the burden of pediatric health injuries, initial healthcare interventions and outcomes seen in thirteen diverse healthcare facilities in Tanzania.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOver 40% of the global burden of sepsis occurs in children under 5 years of age, making pediatric sepsis the top cause of death for this age group. Prior studies have shown that outcomes in children with sepsis improve by minimizing the time between symptom onset and treatment. This is a challenge in resource-limited settings where access to definitive care is limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Due to the high prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Tanzania, provider-initiated HIV testing for patients attending any health care setting is recommended. However, follow-up and linkage to care by those tested remain poor. We determined the feasibility and efficacy of text messaging to promote follow-up among otherwise healthy trauma patients who underwent provider-initiated HIV testing and counseling at an emergency department (ED) in Tanzania.
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