Efficacy and patterns of use of antimicrobial prophylaxis for gunshot wounds in a South African hospital setting: an observational study using propensity score-based analyses

Background: Limited evidence supports the efficacy of antimicrobial prophylaxis (AP) in prevention of gunshot wound-related (GSW-related) infection in resource restricted areas. At Tygerberg Hospital, South Africa, it is standard care for GSW patients to receive one dose of broad-spectrum AP. For various reasons, this protocol is not consistently followed. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of AP in the reduction of in-hospital GSW-related infection and to identify opportunities for practice improvement.Methods: All patients admitted with GSW over a three-month period were eligible for inclusion. Patients who did and did not receive AP were identified retrospectively the morning of admission; thereafter, data was collected prospectively. Data regarding circumstances of the incident, injury characteristics, type of AP and surgery was obtained. The occurrence of in-hospital GSW-related infection was recorded over 30 days or until discharge. Propensity score matching (PSM) and inverse probability weighting (IPW) methods were utilised to assess the effect of AP on the prevention of GSW-related infection.Results: 165 consecutive patients were assessed, of which 103 received AP according to protocol within 12 hours of admission. PSM showed a reduced in-hospital GSW infection risk of 12% (95% CI, 0.2-24%, p = 0.046) with AP. IPW showed that AP reduced the risk for infection by 14% (95% CI, 3-27%, p = 0.015).Conclusions: Providing AP to GSW patients in a civilian setting appeared to result in a modest but clinically relevant lower risk of in-hospital GSW-related infection. In this study setting, optimisation of AP for all patients with GSWs should significantly lower the burden of wound infection.Immunogenetics and cellular immunology of bacterial infectious disease

Combined antiretroviral treatment initiation during hospitalization: Outcomes in south african adults

[No abstract available]Lette

High mortality from respiratory failure secondary to swine-origin influenza a (h1n1) in south africa

Background: The novel influenza A (H1N1) pandemic affected South Africa late during the 2009 Southern hemisphere winter and placed an extra burden on a health care system already dealing with a high prevalence of chronic lung diseases and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.Aim: The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiological characteristics, clinical features, management and outcomes of patients with confirmed influenza A (H1N1) infection complicated by respiratory failure.Methods: We included all adult patients with confirmed influenza A (H1N1) infection that were referred to the medical intensive care unit of a large academic hospital in Cape Town for ventilatory support in this prospective observational study.Results: A total of 19 patients (39.5 ± 14.8 years) needed ventilatory support over a 6-week period. Of these, 15 were female and 16 had identifiable risk factors for severe disease, including pregnancy (n = 6), type 2 diabetes mellitus (n = 6), obesity (n = 4), HIV infection (n = 3), immunosuppressive therapy (n = 3) and active pulmonary tuberculosis (n = 2). The most frequent complications were acute renal failure (n = 13), acute respiratory distress syndrome (n = 12) and ventilator associated pneumonia (n = 10). Thirteen patients died (mortality: 68.4%). Fatal cases were significantly associated with an APACHE II score >20 (P = 0.034), but not with a PaO2/FIO2 <200 (P = 0.085) and a chest radiograph score >12 (P = 0.134).Conclusions: The majority of patients with respiratory failure secondary to influenza A (H1N1) infection were young females and had an underlying risk factor for severe disease. The condition had a high mortality, particularly amongst patients with an APACHE II score >20. © The Author 2010. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Association of Physicians. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: [email protected]

Evaluation of paradoxical TB-associated IRIS with the use of standardized case definitions for resource-limited settings

Objective: Standardized case definitions have recently been proposed by the International Network for the Study of HIV-associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (INSHI; [IRIS]) for use in resource-limited settings. We evaluated paradoxical tuberculosis (TB)-associated IRIS in a large cohort from a TB endemic setting with the use of these case definitions. Design: A retrospective cohort study. Method: We reviewed records from 1250 South African patients who initiated antiretroviral therapy (ART) over a 5-year period. Results: A total of 333 (27%) of the patients in the cohort had prevalent TB at the initiation of ART. Of 54 possible paradoxical TB-associated IRIS cases, 35 fulfilled the INSHI case definitions (11% of TB cases). Conclusions: INSHI-standardized case definitions were used successfully in identifying paradoxical TB-associated IRIS in this cohort and resulted in a similar proportion of TB IRIS cases ( %) as that reported in previous studies from resource-limited settings (8%-l3%). This case definition should be evaluated prospectively. © The Author(s) 2010.Articl