Risk of adverse birth outcomes and birth defects among women living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy and HIV-negative women in Uganda, 2015-2021.

Introduction: We assessed the risk of adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes and birth defects among women living with HIV (WLHIV) on antiretroviral therapy (ART) and HIV-negative women.

Methods: We analyzed data on live births, stillbirths, and spontaneous abortions during 2015-2021 from a hospital-based birth defects surveillance system in Kampala, Uganda. ART regimens were recorded from hospital records and maternal self-reports.

Congenital Bilateral Perisylvian Syndrome: A Rare Case.

Congenital bilateral perisylvian syndrome (CBPS) is a rare neuronal migration disorder of cortical development characterized by polymicrogyria on magnetic resonance imaging. Features include pseudobulbar palsy, language and speech difficulties, epilepsy, and cognitive deficits. We discuss the management of the case of a five-year-old male with classical features of CBPS.

Pleural carcinoid diagnosed via video-assisted thoracoscopy biopsies in a patient with recurrent unilateral pleural effusion at St. Francis hospital Nsambya: a case report.

Background: Pulmonary carcinoids are rare neuroendocrine tumors accounting for less than 1% of all lung cancers. They are classified into two subcategories; typical and atypical carcinoids with the latter tending to grow faster. Historically, open thoracotomy was the standard approach for pulmonary resection.

Readiness to manage Ebola Virus Disease among emergency healthcare workers in Uganda: a nationwide multicenter survey.

Background: Emerging infectious diseases like the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) pose significant global public health threats. Uganda has experienced multiple EVD outbreaks, the latest occurring in 2022. Frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) are at increased risk, yet there is insufficient evidence of existing knowledge of EVD of these HCWs.

National diagnostic reference levels for digital diagnostic and screening mammography in Uganda.

Introduction: Screening and diagnostic mammography are associated with some risk of radiation-induced breast cancer. This study was conducted to establish the National Diagnostic Reference Levels (NDRLs) for digital diagnostic and screening mammography in Uganda to achieve breast radiation dose optimization.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among female participants recruited by consecutive sampling from three selected hospitals with digital mammography in Uganda.

The impact of a multidisciplinary intervention to reduce severe retinopathy of prematurity in Kampala, Uganda.

Background: To address the threat of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the Stop Infant Blindness in Africa (SIBA) project introduced a comprehensive program, including subspecialty training and oxygen management equipment.

Methods: A before-and-after retrospective cohort study compared preterm infants < 1750 g or < 34 weeks' gestation before (2022) and after (2023) program implementation. Outcomes included: the proportion with severe ROP, the proportion with Zone III vascularization on first examination, and factors associated with severe ROP.

Diabetes mellitus in sub-saharan Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic: A scoping review.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the healthcare and outcomes of individuals with various chronic diseases. However, there is a paucity of data on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on diabetes mellitus (DM) in low-resource settings. To address this, we conducted a scoping review to explore the literature published on diabetes-related COVID-19 outcomes and care during the COVID-19 pandemic in countries of sub-Saharan Africa.

Readiness To Manage Ebola Virus Disease Among Emergency Healthcare Workers in Uganda: A Nationwide Multicenter Survey.

Background: Emerging infectious diseases like the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) pose significant global public health threats. Uganda has experienced multiple EVD outbreaks, the latest occurring in 2022. Frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) are at increased risk, yet there isn't sufficient evidence of existing knowledge of EVD of these health workers.

Global health systems strengthening: FIGO's strategic view on reducing maternal and newborn mortality worldwide.

Objective: To demonstrate that successful health systems strengthening (HSS) projects have addressed disparities and inequities in maternal and perinatal care in low-income countries.

Methods: A comprehensive literature review covered the period between 1980 and 2022, focusing on successful HSS interventions within health systems' seven core components that improved maternal and perinatal care.

Results: The findings highlight the importance of integrating quality interventions into robust health systems, as this has been shown to reduce maternal and newborn mortality.

Acceptability to donate human milk among postnatal mothers at St. Francis hospital Nsambya, Uganda: a mixed method study.

Background: The World Health Organization recommends the use of donated human milk (HM) as the second-best option for mothers who are temporarily unable to provide sufficient breast milk to meet the needs of their infants. However, HM donation is yet to become an accepted practice in Uganda. We assessed the level of, and factors associated with acceptability to donate HM among postnatal mothers at St.

Setting up the first human milk bank in Uganda: a success story from Nsambya hospital.

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) strongly recommends the use of donor human milk (DHM) for low birth weight infants when mother's own milk is unavailable or insufficient. However, the use of DHM requires the availability of human milk banks (HMBs), the majority of which are in middle and high-income countries. Developing countries offer multiple opportunities and challenges regarding the establishment and operationalization of HMBs.

Diagnostic Accuracy of Clinical Diagnostic Scoring Systems for Childhood Tuberculosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Diagnosis of childhood tuberculosis (TB) poses several challenges. Therefore, point-based scoring systems and diagnostic algorithms have been developed to improve the diagnostic yields in this population. However, there are no updated systematic reviews of the existing childhood TB scoring systems and algorithms.

A rare case of multi-drug resistant -induced sepsis in a healthy young man in Uganda.

Key Clinical Message: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a public health challenge. It causes unresponsiveness to treatment with antimicrobials, leads to sepsis, septic shock, and increased hospital mortality. This is compounded by new multidrug resistant organisms.

Diagnostic accuracy of two confirmatory tests for diabetes mellitus in adult Ugandans with recently diagnosed tuberculosis.

Objective: The optimal confirmatory tests for diabetes mellitus (DM) in patients with tuberculosis (TB) vary across populations. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of two confirmatory tests for DM against the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) as the reference test in adult Ugandans with recently diagnosed TB.

Methods: A total of 232 adult participants receiving TB treatment underwent initial screening for DM with random blood glucose (RBG) measurement.

"I thought I was going to die": Experiences of COVID-19 patients managed at home in Uganda.

Background: In Uganda, approximately 170,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 3,630 deaths have been reported as of January 2023. At the start of the second COVID-19 wave, the Ugandan health system was overwhelmed with a sudden increase in the number of COVID-19 patients who needed care, and the Ministry of Health resorted to home-based isolation and care for patients with mild to moderate disease. Before its rollout, the COVID-19 home-based care strategy had neither been piloted nor tested in Uganda.

Burden and associated phenotypic characteristics of tuberculosis infection in adult Africans with diabetes: a systematic review.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) increases the risk of developing tuberculosis infection (TBI). However, the evidence on the burden and phenotypic characteristics of TBI in African patients with DM is limited. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and characterisation of TBI in native African patients living with DM.

Diagnostic accuracy of chest ultrasound scan in the diagnosis of childhood tuberculosis.

Chest Ultrasound Scan (CUS) has been utilized in place of CXR in the diagnosis of adult pneumonia with similar or higher sensitivity and specificity to CXR. However, there is a paucity of data on the use of CUS for the diagnosis of childhood TB. This study aimed to determine the diagnostic accuracy of CUS for childhood TB.

Clinical features, resistance patterns and treatment outcomes of drug-resistant extra-pulmonary tuberculosis: A scoping review.

Background: Drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) is a threat to tuberculosis (TB) control. Extra-pulmonary forms of DR-TB (DR-epTB) are not well characterized. This review summarizes the clinical features, resistance patterns and treatment outcomes of DR-epTB.

High blood pressure prevalence, awareness, treatment, and blood pressure control among Ugandans with rheumatic and musculoskeletal disorders.

Background: Rheumatic and musculoskeletal disorders (RMDs) are associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), with hypertension being the most common. We aimed to determine the prevalence of high blood pressure (HBP), awareness, treatment, and blood pressure control among patients with RMDs seen in a Rheumatology clinic in Uganda.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study at the Rheumatology Clinic of Mulago National Referral Hospital (MNRH), Kampala, Uganda.