Medical Research Council of South Africa.

Background Maternal and neonatal mortality is high in Africa, but few large, prospective studies have been done to investigate the risk factors associated with these poor maternal and neonatal outcomes. Methods A 7-day, international, prospective, observational cohort study was done in patients having caesarean delivery in 183 hospitals across 22 countries in Africa. The inclusion criteria were all consecutive patients (aged ≥18 years) admitted to participating centres having elective and non-elective caesarean delivery during the 7-day study cohort period. To ensure a representative sample, each hospital had to provide data for 90% of the eligible patients during the recruitment week. The primary outcome was in-hospital maternal mortality and complications, which were assessed by local investigators. The study was registered on the South African National Health Research Database, number KZ_2015RP7_22, and on ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT03044899. Findings Between February, 2016, and May, 2016, 3792 patients were recruited from hospitals across Africa. 3685 were included in the postoperative complications analysis (107 missing data) and 3684 were included in the maternal mortality analysis (108 missing data). These hospitals had a combined number of specialist surgeons, obstetricians, and anaesthetists totalling 0•7 per 100 000 population (IQR 0•2-2•0). Maternal mortality was 20 (0•5%) of 3684 patients (95% CI 0•3-0•8). Complications occurred in 633 (17•4%) of 3636 mothers (16•2-18•6), which were predominantly severe intraoperative and postoperative bleeding (136 [3•8%] of 3612 mothers). Maternal mortality was independently associated with a preoperative presentation of placenta praevia, placental abruption, ruptured uterus, antepartum haemorrhage (odds ratio 4•47 [95% CI 1•46-13•65]), and perioperative severe obstetric haemorrhage (5•87 [1•99-17•34]) or anaesthesia complications (11•47 (1•20-109•20]). Neonatal mortality was 153 (4•4%) of 3506 infants (95% CI 3•7-5•0). Interpretation Maternal mortality after caesarean delivery in Africa is 50 times higher than that of high-income countries and is driven by peripartum haemorrhage and anaesthesia complications. Neonatal mortality is double the global average. Early identification and appropriate management of mothers at risk of peripartum haemorrhage might improve maternal and neonatal outcomes in Africa.

Background: Health care associated infection (HCAI) or Hospital acquired infection is associated with significant morbidity, mortality and cost. The incidence is about 6% and disproportionately higher in critically ill patients who may have been immune-compromised with many invasive procedures already performed. Prevention of HCAI and appropriate management of patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) requires knowledge on the pattern of microbial colonization and infections. The aim of this preliminary study was to provide current data on the pattern of ICU acquired infections in our hospital. Patients and Methods: It was a cross sectional study of patients admitted into the ICU who were expected to stay longer than 48hrs between July 2011 and September 2012. Urine, blood, and tracheal aspirate were collected on days 1, 3 and 5 for microbiological studies. All patients involved in the study had urethral catheter in-situ and received mechanical ventilation in the ICU. Results: Fifty-nine patients were recruited into the study. The mean age of the patients was 30.08 + 19.9yr; while the reasons for admissions were respiratory failure (59.3%), cardiovascular instability, trauma and neurological diseases. About 30% of the samples taken from the study sites on arrival in the ICU had positive culture yields. Organisms cultured included Klebsiella oxytoca, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The urinary tract had the highest number of isolated organisms-9(60%), followed by equal number of isolated organisms-3(20%) in the blood and respiratory tract. Eleven (73.3%) of the organisms isolated were Gram-negative bacteria, and 4 (26.7%) were Gram-positive cocci. The commonest bacteria isolates were Staphylococcus aureus (4/26.7%) and Klebsiella oxytoca (4/ 26.7%). A total of 15 ICU-acquired infections were detected in 9 of 59 patients. Conclusion: The HCIA infection rate was 15%, and urinary tract infections (UTI) was the commonest hospital acquired infection in our ICU. Klebsiella oxytoca and Staphylococcus aureus were the commonest organisms.

Introduction:Craniotomy is a neurosurgical operation done to remove brain tumor, repair vascular lesion, and relieve intracranial pressure. Complications can arise which may necessitate re-do craniotomy. The study is planned to find out the relationship between variables such as age, American Society of Anaesthesiologist (ASA), Glasgow coma score (GCS), frequency of re-do craniotomy, and surgical outcome of re-do craniotomy.Materials and Methods:This is a retrospective study of all the patients who had re-do craniotomy over a 4-year period. The data that were collected included age, sex, ASA classification, indication for re-do craniotomy, GCS, frequency of re-do craniotomy, postoperative complications, and outcome.Results:Twenty-five patients had indication for re-do craniotomy within the study period. Forty percent were male and 60% were female, and their mean age was 38.56 ± 17.38 years. The indications for re-do craniotomy were removal of residual tumor, evacuation of clot, and cerebrospinal fluid leakage. Seventy-six percent had good outcome, while 24% had poor outcome. Outcome was good for patients who had re-do craniotomy done once, while poor outcome was for patients with second and third craniotomies. Ninety percent of patients with ASA 2 had good outcome, while 9.1% had poor outcome; but 64.3% had good outcome with ASA 3, while 37.7% had poor outcome with a P-value of 0.18. Seventy-five percent had poor outcome in patients with GCS of less than 9, while 25% had good outcome; but 14.3% had poor outcome in patients with GCS above 9, while 85.7% had good outcome with a P-value of 0.031.Conclusions:Increasing frequency of re-do craniotomy and lower GCS were major factors affecting outcome in re-do craniotomy in our center. The outcome of these patients is valuable in the management of other patients with re-do craniotomy in future.

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