A Prospective Longitudinal Study of the Clinical Outcomes from Cryptococcal Meningitis following Treatment Induction with 800 mg Oral Fluconazole in Blantyre, Malawi

Introduction: Cryptococcal meningitis is the most common neurological infection in HIV infected patients in Sub Saharan Africa, where gold standard treatment with intravenous amphotericin B and 5 flucytosine is often unavailable or difficult to administer. Fluconazole monotherapy is frequently recommended in national guidelines but is a fungistatic drug compromised by uncertainty over optimal dosing and a paucity of clinical end-point outcome data. Methods: From July 2010 until March 2011, HIV infected adults with a first episode of cryptococcal meningitis were recruited at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre, Malawi. Patients were treated with oral fluconazole monotherapy 800 mg daily, as per national guidelines. ART was started at 4 weeks. Outcomes and factors associated with treatment failure were assessed 4, 10 and 52 weeks after fluconazole initiation. Results: Sixty patients were recruited. 26/60 (43%) died by 4 weeks. 35/60 (58.0%) and 43/56 (77%) died or failed treatment by 10 or 52 weeks respectively. Reduced consciousness (Glasgow Coma Score ,14 of 15), moderate/severe neurological disability (modified Rankin Score .3 of 5) and confusion (Abbreviated Mental Test Score ,8 of 10) were all common at baseline and associated with death or treatment failure. ART prior to recruitment was not associated with better outcomes. Conclusions: Mortality and treatment failure from cryptococcal meningitis following initiation of treatment with 800 mg oral fluconazole is unacceptably high. To improve outcomes, there is an urgent need for better therapeutic strategies and point-of-care diagnostics, allowing earlier diagnosis before development of neurological deficit

"Every Newborn-BIRTH" protocol: observational study validating indicators for coverage and quality of maternal and newborn health care in Bangladesh, Nepal and Tanzania.

Background: To achieve Sustainable Development Goals and Universal Health Coverage, programmatic data are essential. The Every Newborn Action Plan, agreed by all United Nations member states and >80 development partners, includes an ambitious Measurement Improvement Roadmap. Quality of care at birth is prioritised by both Every Newborn and Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality strategies, hence metrics need to advance from health service contact alone, to content of care. As facility births increase, monitoring using routine facility data in DHIS2 has potential, yet validation research has mainly focussed on maternal recall surveys. The Every Newborn - Birth Indicators Research Tracking in Hospitals (EN-BIRTH) study aims to validate selected newborn and maternal indicators for routine tracking of coverage and quality of facility-based care for use at district, national and global levels. Methods: EN-BIRTH is an observational study including >20 000 facility births in three countries (Tanzania, Bangladesh and Nepal) to validate selected indicators. Direct clinical observation will be compared with facility register data and a pre-discharge maternal recall survey for indicators including: uterotonic administration, immediate newborn care, neonatal resuscitation and Kangaroo mother care. Indicators including neonatal infection management and antenatal corticosteroid administration, which cannot be easily observed, will be validated using inpatient records. Trained clinical observers in Labour/Delivery ward, Operation theatre, and Kangaroo mother care ward/areas will collect data using a tablet-based customised data capturing application. Sensitivity will be calculated for numerators of all indicators and specificity for those numerators with adequate information. Other objectives include comparison of denominator options (ie, true target population or surrogates) and quality of care analyses, especially regarding intervention timing. Barriers and enablers to routine recording and data usage will be assessed by data flow assessments, quantitative and qualitative analyses. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first large, multi-country study validating facility-based routine data compared to direct observation for maternal and newborn care, designed to provide evidence to inform selection of a core list of indicators recommended for inclusion in national DHIS2. Availability and use of such data are fundamental to drive progress towards ending the annual 5.5 million preventable stillbirths, maternal and newborn deaths.Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF)Swedish Research CouncilUnited States Agency for International DevelopmentSaving Newborn Lives/Save the ChildrenWHOBill & Melinda Gates Foundatio

Closed Mitral Valvotomy-a Life Saving Procedure in Facility Deprived Countries: Experience at Muhimbili National Hospital, Tanzania.

Background: Rheumatic heart disease remains a major health cardiac problem in developing countries as the culprit of rheumatic fever. Mitral valve stenosis is the most common complication of valvular heart disease and its consequences of increase in pulmonary hypertension, heart failure, pulmonary vascular disease and if untreated death ensues. The management of this condition varies depending on availability of expertise and resource; however in a facility deprived country with low economic status closed mitral valvotomy remain the standard palliative treatment! The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical status of patients with mitral stenosis following closed mitral valvotomy treated at Muhimbili National Hospital, Cardiothoracic Unit. Methods: All patients presenting with severe mitral stenosis in absence of calcification in its leaflets and regurgitation were enrolled for the study from May 2008 to November 2009. Excluded were those who failure consents. Results:A total of fourteen patients were included in the study of which 10 (71.4%) were females and 4 (28.6%) were males. They had a mean age of 21.5±8.8 and range from 11 to 41 years. The diagnosis was based on clinical evaluation using NYHA class and 2D-Echocardiography findings. All patients’ demographic data, preoperative and post operative findings were taken and data analysis was done using an SPSS 11.5 program. Categorical data were compared and analyzed using two Tailed- χ2 and values were taken 5% significance level. Conclusion: There was an overall highly significant improvement in clinical stage of the disease, reduction in mean pressure gradient across the mitral valve, reduction in pulmonary hypertension and mean left atrial size. Similarly there was improvement in ventricular function in terms of ejection fraction and increase in mean mitral valve area