Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Extension For Community Healthcare Outcomes-Palliative Care In Africa Program: Improving Access To Quality Palliative Care, Sriram Yennurajalingam, Charles E. Amos, John Weru, Edwina Beryl, Addo Opare-Lokko, Joseph Anthony Arthur, Kristy Nguyen, Olaitan Soyannwo, Runcie C.W. Chidebe, Janet L. Williams, Zhanni Lu, Ellen Baker, Sanjeev Arora, Eduardo Bruera, Suresh Reddy

Internal Medicine, East Africa

Purpose: There is limited access to quality palliative care (PC) for patients with advanced cancer in sub-Saharan Africa. Our aim was to describe the development of the Project Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes- Palliative Care in Africa (ECHO-PACA) program and describe a preliminary evaluation of attitudes and knowledge of participants regarding the ability of the program to deliver quality PC.

Methods: An interdisciplinary team at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, guided by experts in PC in sub-Saharan Africa, adapted a standardized curriculum based on PC needs in the region. Participants were then recruited, and monthly telementoring sessions were held for …

Armed Conflicts And National Trends In Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn And Child Health In Sub-Saharan Africa: What Can National Health Surveys Tell Us?, Ties Boerma, Hannah Tappis, Ghada Saad-Haddad, Jai K. Das, Dessalegn Y. Melesse, Jocelyn Dejong, Paul Spiegel, Robert Black, Cesar Victora, Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Armed conflicts are widespread in sub-Saharan Africa and considered to be an important factor in slowing down national progress in reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH). The measurement of the impact of conflicts on national levels and trends in RMNCH is difficult. National surveys conducted before and sometimes during and after conflicts are a major source of information on the national and local effects of conflicts on RMNCH. We examined data from national surveys in 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa with major conflicts during 1990–2016 to assess the levels and trends in RMNCH intervention coverage, nutritional status and mortality …

Serum Procalcitonin Levels In Children With Clinical Syndromes For Targeting Antibiotic Use At An Emergency Department Of A Kenyan Hospital, Samuel Akech, Doris Kinuthia, William Macharia

Paediatrics and Child Health, East Africa

Serum procalcitonin (PCT) was measured in 228 children aged 1 month to 15 years at an emergency department of a hospital located in an area without local malaria transmission in children with suspected infections; 21% (49) children had a clinical syndrome for suspected bacterial infections (Syndrome+ve). In children with Syndrome+ve criteria, 27/49 (55.1%) had PCT ≥0.5 µg/l but only 59/179 (32.9%) of those Syndrome-ve had abnormal PCT, χ2 = 8.0, p = 0.005; positive likelihood ratio = 2.0 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2-3.3]; negative likelihood ratio = 0.8 (95% CI 0.7-1.0). In patients with pneumonia, 9/15 (60%) with severe pneumonia …