Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Background: Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. // Methods: We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung's disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. // Findings: We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung's disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middle-income countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in low-income countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. // Interpretation: Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Molecular epidemiology of HIV infection in portuguese migrant population

Introduction: The surveillance and characterization of the HIV transmission patterns, with or without resistance to antiretroviral ARVs (TDR), is of paramount importance for public health. In Portugal, the prevalence of HIV-1 is less than 1% in the general population. 24.1% of new diagnoses occurred in migrants, contributing to the disproportionate number of new infections acquired heterosexually1. Objectives: To analyze the prevalence of TDR in HIV-1 infected patients from the migrant population in Portugal. Methods: A dataset of HIV-1 patients - migrants from Angola, Mozambique, Cape-Verde and Guinea-Bissau - clinically followed in Portuguese hospitals between 2001 and 2014, were analysed. Data collected include clinical and social characteristics and the viral genomic sequences, which were obtained from the first resistance test, before the beginning of ARVs therapy. Results: 858 HIV-1 positive patients were included (52% female and 47% male). Transmission route is unknown in 85% of the cases. 25.3% were infected with CRF02_AG, 15.6% with subtype C and 14.9% with subtype G. In migrants from Angola and Mozambique the major prevalent subtype is C presenting 21.6% and 71.8%, respectively, from Cape-Verde is G (29.7%) and from Guinea-Bissau is CRF02_AG (62.9%). Between 2001 and 2014, 7.8% (IC-95%, 5.8-10.4) of the patients presented primary resistance (PR) to ARVs which increases to 9.3% (IC-95%, 7.0-13.0) if we consider only patients who have undergone the resistance test in the last 4 years. The PR presented in Guinea-Bissau is worrying because it presents the highest value (10%), increasing in the last 4 years (12%, 2010-2014). RP to Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors is the highest, with 5.0% of patients presenting resistance to this class. Conclusion: This study allows us to have an overview about the molecular epidemiology of the HIV-1 epidemic in the immigrant population in Portugal, in order to help Public Health entities to design prevention policies.Presentationstatus: publishe