Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

“Old People Problems”, Uncertainty And Legitimacy: Challenges With Diagnosing Parkinson's Disease In Kenya, Natasha Fothergill-Misbah, Richard Walker, Judith Kwasa, Juzar Hooker, Kate Hampshire

Internal Medicine, East Africa

Very little is known about the experience of people living with Parkinson's disease (PD) in low- and middle-income countries, such as those in sub-Saharan Africa. The number of specialists in the region is low and awareness is limited among the population and healthcare professionals. Drawing on ten months of ethnographic fieldwork in urban and rural Kenya with 55 people living with PD (PwP), 23 family members and 22 healthcare professionals from public and private clinics, we set out to understand the experience of diagnosis among PwP in Kenya. The diagnostic journeys of our study participants were typically long, convoluted and …

A Prospective Observational Study Of Community Acquired Pneumonia In Kenya: The Role Of Viral Pathogens, Jamila Nambafu, Mary Achakolong, Fridah Mwendwa, Jumaa Bwika, Felix Riunga, Samuel Gitau, Hanika Patel, Rodney Adam

Internal Medicine, East Africa

Background: Lower respiratory tract infections continue to contribute significantly to morbidity and mortality across all age groups globally. In sub-Saharan Africa, many studies of community acquired pneumonia in adults have focused on HIV-infected patients and little attention has been given to risk factors and etiologic agents in an urban area with a more moderate HIV prevalence.

Methods: We prospectively enrolled 77 patients admitted to a 280 bed teaching hospital in Kenya with radiographically confirmed community acquired pneumonia from May 2019 to March 2020. The patients were followed for etiology and clinical outcomes. Viral PCR testing was performed using …

Cases Of Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder From The East Africa Region, Highlighting Challenges In Diagnostics And Healthcare Access, Dilraj Sokhi, Adil Suleiman, Soraiya Manji, Juzar Hooker, Peter Mativo

Internal Medicine, East Africa

Background: Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is an auto-immune disease of the central nervous system (CNS) associated with the IgG-antibody against aquaporin-4 (AQP4-IgG). There is little published epidemiology of NMOSD from sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Methods: We retrospectively collated NMOSD cases admitted to our tertiary regional neurology centre.

Results: We identified 11 cases (10 female, average age 30 years). 64% (7/11) were seropositive for AQP4-IgG, measured using indirect immunofluorescence. The remaining cases could either not afford tests, or had patho-gnomonic radiological features. 57% (4/7) of seropositive cases had concurrent/recent CNS infection. All pa-tients were treated with high-dose intravenous …