Role of Bangladesh Medical College Hospital (B.M.C.H) Protocol in Achieving Zero Shunt Infection in Paediatric Hydrocephalus

Ventriculoperitoneal shunt infection is one of the most dreadful complications of shunt surgery. Though topical, intravenous, and intraventricular antibiotics have been used; the infection rate is still high. It is a retrospective cohort study from Jan 2018 to Dec 2022 in Bangladesh Medical College, performed by a single Neurosurgeon. Objective: To see the effectiveness of the B.M.C.H protocol of shunt surgery in minimizing shunt infection. Method: 83 pediatric Ventriculo Peritoneal shunt cases were selected, who met the inclusion criteria. They were divided into 2 groups. One group had an Ommaya reservoir with or without endoscopic third ventriculostomy (failed) and was subject to cerebrospinal fluid aspiration for a considerable period followed by a shunt. The other group had conventional shunt (non-Ommaya) surgery. Results: The overall infection rate in our hospital in shunt surgery is 3.6%. Among the non-Ommaya or conventional shunt group, it reached 7.1%, while among the Ommaya group, there was not a single shunt infection in the follow-up period. 47% of babies came from the poorest population of the country. There was no significant relationship found between infection with a history of previous infection, per operative use of an endoscope, early age, or preterm birth. Follow up period was between 6 to 18 months. Conclusions: In a non-specialized hospital in a third-world country with limited neurosurgical capacity, following B.M.C.H. protocol, we found the babies who had Ommaya reservoir and underwent regular cerebrospinal fluid aspiration for a period of time before Ventriculo peritoneal shunt surgery were infection free in the long and short time follow up

Arsenic is associated with reduced effect of folic acid in myelomeningocele prevention: a case control study in Bangladesh

Background: Arsenic induces neural tube defects in several animal models, but its potential to cause neural tube defects in humans is unknown. Our objective was to investigate the associations between maternal arsenic exposure, periconceptional folic acid supplementation, and risk of posterior neural tube defect (myelomeningocele) among a highly exposed population in rural Bangladesh. Methods: We performed a case–control study that recruited physician-confirmed cases from community health clinics served by Dhaka Community Hospital in Bangladesh, as well as local health facilities that treat children with myelomeningocele. Controls were selected from pregnancy registries in the same areas. Maternal arsenic exposure was estimated from drinking water samples taken from wells used during the first trimester of pregnancy. Periconceptional folic acid use was ascertained by self-report, and maternal folate status was further assessed by plasma folate levels measured at the time of the study visit. Results: Fifty-seven cases of myelomeningocele were identified along with 55 controls. A significant interaction was observed between drinking water inorganic arsenic and periconceptional folic acid use. As drinking water inorganic arsenic concentrations increased from 1 to 25 μg/L, the estimated protective effect of folic acid use declined (OR 0.22 to 1.03), and was not protective at higher concentrations of arsenic. No main effect of arsenic exposure on myelomeningocele risk was identified. Conclusions: Our study found a significant interaction between drinking water inorganic arsenic concentration from wells used during the first trimester of pregnancy and reported intake of periconceptional folic acid supplements. Results suggest that environmental arsenic exposure reduces the effectiveness of folic acid supplementation in preventing myelomeningocele

Prenatal folic acid use associated with decreased risk of myelomeningocele: A case-control study offers further support for folic acid fortification in Bangladesh.

Neural tube defects contribute to severe morbidity and mortality in children and adults; however, they are largely preventable through maternal intake of folic acid before and during early pregnancy. We examined the association between maternal prenatal folic acid supplement intake and risk of myelomeningocele (a severe and common type of neural tube defect) in the offspring. We performed secondary analysis using data from a case-control study conducted at Dhaka Community Hospital, Bangladesh between April and November of 2013. Cases and controls included children with and without myelomeningocele, respectively, and their mothers. Cases were identified from local hospitals and rural health clinics served by Dhaka Community Hospital. Controls were selected from pregnancy registries located in the same region as the cases, and matched (1:1) to cases by age and sex. Myelomeningocele in the offspring was confirmed by a pediatrician with expertise in classifying neural tube defects. Maternal prenatal folic acid supplement intake was the main exposure of interest. We estimated crude and adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) using conditional logistic regression analysis. There were 53 pairs of matched cases and controls in our study. Overall, 51% of case mothers reported using folic acid supplements during pregnancy compared to 72% of control mothers (p = 0.03). Median plasma folate concentrations at the time of study visit were 2.79 ng/mL and 2.86 ng/mL among case and control mothers, respectively (p = 0.85). Maternal prenatal folic acid use significantly decreased the odds of myelomeningocele in the offspring (unadjusted OR = 0.42, 95% CI = 0.18-0.96). The association was slightly attenuated after adjusting for maternal age at the time of pregnancy (adjusted OR = 0.43, 95% CI = 0.18-1.02). Our study confirms the protective association between maternal prenatal folic acid supplement use and myelomeningocele among children born in Bangladesh. Our findings point to an overall low folic acid supplement use and low plasma folate concentrations among women of reproductive age in Bangladesh. Mandatory fortification of staple foods with folic acid can address low folate status among women of child-bearing age, and prevent child morbidity and mortality associated with myelomeningocele in Bangladesh

Plasma folate concentrations at the time of the study by maternal prenatal folic acid supplement intake during pregnancy.

<p>Solid black line represents the distribution of plasma folate concentrations at the time of the study visit among mothers who reported prenatal folic acid supplement intake during pregnancy. Dotted line represents the distribution of plasma folate concentrations among mothers who reported that they did not use prenatal folic acid supplements during pregnancy. The threshold for optimal folic acid concentration is represented by the straight line at 4 ng/ml.</p

Infant and maternal characteristics of cases (myelomeningocele) and controls.

<p>Infant and maternal characteristics of cases (myelomeningocele) and controls.</p