3 research outputs found
Prevalence of asthma among school children in Gaborone, Botswana.
Background: Asthma prevalence is high (>10%) in developed countries
and although data is still missing for most of Africa, rates are
increasing in developing regions as they become more westernized. We
investigated the prevalence of asthma in school children in Gaborone,
Botswana. Methods: This was a cross sectional descriptive study. ISAAC
methodology was used. A representative proportionate size random sample
of two age groups of children (13-14 year olds and 6-7 year olds) was
consecutively enrolled from 10 schools. The schools were selected using
a table of random numbers. A minimum sample size of 924 individuals
(462 from each group) was adequate to achieve a precision of 3 % around
our estimated prevalence of asthma of 10% with 95% confidence assuming
a non-response rate of 20%. Data was collected using the validated
International study of Asthma and Allergies in children (ISAAC)
questionnaire. In accordance with the ISAAC criteria, Asthma was
defined as wheezing in the previous 12 months. Data was captured in
microsoft excel and analysed using SPSS version 23. Results: The
prevalence of asthma (wheezing in the previous 12 months) was 16.5%
(194/1175). Among the 6-7 year olds, the prevalence of asthma (wheezing
in the previous 12 months) was 15.9%, while among the 13-14 years olds
it was 16.8 %. The prevalence school type was 22.3 % in private schools
versus 14.5 % in public schools. More severe asthma was associated with
older children, 13 -14 years. The older children reported more limited
speech due to wheezing (OR= 2.0, 95% CI =1.034, 3.9, p-value=0.043),
ever had asthma (OR= 1.5, 95% CI=1.031, 2.3, p-value=0.034) and
wheezing during exercise (OR=3.4, 95% CI= 2.5, 4.9, p-value= <0.001)
compared to the younger children 6-7 years. Children from private
schools had more wheezing symptoms. They were more likely to have ever
wheezed (OR=2.2, .95% CI=1.7,2.9, p-value < 0.0001), wheezed in the
previous twelve months (have asthma) (OR=1.7,95%CI=1.2,2.4, p-value =
0.001), ever had asthma (OR=2.4, 95% CI=1.7,3.5, pvalue< 0.0001),
and wheezed during exercise (OR=1.8, 95% CI=1.4,2.4, p-value <
0.0001). Conclusion: The prevalence of asthma amongst school children
in Gaborone, Botswana is high with older children experiencing more
severe symptoms of asthma
A 15-year retrospective review of urodynamic studies in Children at Red Cross War Memorial Childrens Hospital (RCWMCH), Cape Town, South Africa
Background: Despite the undeniable diagnostic benefits of urodynamic studies (UDS), their adoption into clinical practice in Africa has been slow. This study aimed to review the use of invasive UDS in children at a tertiary paediatric hospital in South Africa. Methods: A retrospective analysis of 1108 UDS was conducted. Patient demographic characteristics, primary diagnosis, indication and urodynamic outcomes were reviewed. Presence of urodynamic high-risk features were documented, and a comparison was made between the first study and follow-up study. Results: This study revealed increasing trends in the use of UDS from 2015. Referrals were from Urology (37.7%), Spinal defects clinic (34.4%), Nephrology (20.8%) and other departments (7.0%). The most common reason for referral was review of medical treatment (36.5%). Spinal dysraphism (58.3%) accounted for the majority of conditions seen. Majority (59.1%) of the patients were receiving more than one type of bladder treatment at the time of their first study, with clean intermittent catheterisation (46.5%) being the most common form of bladder management. 97.5% of studies were performed using transurethral bladder catheterization. Urodynamic diagnosis was neurogenic in 74.0%, anatomical (12.2%), functional (8.8%) and normal (5.0%). There was statistically significant improvement in bladder compliance, detrusor leak point pressure and detrusor sphincter dyssynergia between the first study and a subsequent study following therapeutic intervention. Conclusion: The unique ability of UDS to demonstrate changes in detrusor pressures, which is a common reason for therapy failure, makes UDS an invaluable tool in the diagnosis and management of children with lower urinary tract dysfunction