scholarly journals Clinical Outcomes of Pneumonia and Other Comorbidities in Children Aged 2-59 Months in Lilongwe, Malawi: Protocol for the Prospective Observational Study “Innovative Treatments in Pneumonia”

10.2196/13377 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. e13377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Sarah Ginsburg ◽  
Susanne May ◽  
Evangelyn Nkwopara ◽  
Gwen Ambler ◽  
Eric D McCollum ◽  
...  

Background Pneumonia is the leading infectious cause of death worldwide among children below 5 years of age. Clinical trials are conducted to determine optimal treatment; however, these trials often exclude children with comorbidities and severe illness. Conclusions Given the paucity of data from Africa, African-based research is necessary to establish optimal management of childhood pneumonia in malaria-endemic settings in the region. An expanded evidence base that includes children with pneumonia and other comorbidities, who are at high risk for mortality or have other complications and are therefore typically excluded from childhood pneumonia clinical trials, can contribute to future iterations of the World Health Organization Integrated Management of Childhood Illness guidelines. Methods The study enrolled 1000 children with pneumonia presenting to the outpatient departments of Kamuzu Central or Bwaila District Hospitals in Lilongwe, Malawi, who were excluded from concurrent randomized controlled clinical trials investigating fast breathing and chest indrawing pneumonia and who met the inclusion criteria for this prospective observational study. Each child received standard care for their illnesses per Malawian guidelines and hospital protocol and was prospectively followed up with scheduled study visits on days 1, 2 (if hospitalized), 6, 14 (in person), and 30 (by phone). Our primary objectives are to describe the clinical outcomes of children who meet the inclusion criteria for this study and to investigate whether the percentages of children cured at day 14 among those with either fast breathing or chest indrawing pneumonia and comorbidities such as severe malaria, anemia, severe acute malnutrition, or HIV are lower than those in children without these comorbidities in the standard care groups in concurrent clinical trials. This study was approved by the Western Institutional Review Board, Malawi College of Medicine Research and Ethics Committee, and the Malawi Pharmacy, Medicines and Poisons Board. Objective This prospective observational study aimed to assess the clinical outcomes of children aged 2-59 months with both pneumonia and other comorbidities in a malaria-endemic region of Malawi. Results The Innovative Treatments in Pneumonia project was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP1105080) in April 2014. Enrollment in this study began in 2016, and the primary results are expected in 2019. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/13377


Author(s):  
Dr. Pankaj Kumar Singh

Aims and objectives: To determine the risk factors of blood culture contamination done in ED and those done in the MHDU/MICU among patients admitted with medical illness. Material and Methods: This is a two months’ prospective observational study comparing blood culture contamination rate and risk factors associated with contamination between ED and MICU/MHDU. A total of 998 patients were included in the study who underwent blood culture in ED and MICU/MHDU. 570 in ED and 428 in MICU/MHDU were included after meeting exclusion and inclusion criteria. Results: Blood culture growths were higher in ED (19%). Most common growth was CoNS (4%). The overall contamination rate in this study was (4.8%) The contamination rate was lower in ED (4.4%) when compared to MICU/MHDU (5.4%).



Author(s):  
DURGA PRASAD THAMMISETTY ◽  
DIVITI RANGANAYAKULU ◽  
DEVANNA NAYAKANTI

Objective: The objective of the study was to assess the drug-related problems (DRPs) and the World Health Organization (WHO) core prescribing indicators among stroke patients. Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted among stroke inpatients of Acute Medical Care and General Medicine Department of a tertiary care hospital located in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India. A suitable data collection form was used to collect the data about demographics, clinical characteristics, WHO prescribing indicators, and DRPs. Descriptive statistics were used to represent the demographics, distribution of DRPs, and prescribing indicators in the study. Chi-square test was employed to test the significant association between the demographics and the occurrence of DRPs. Results: Among 174 patients included in the study, 89 had one or more DRPs. A total of 122 DRPs were identified in the study population. Drug interactions (48.4%) and adverse drug reactions (ADRs) (17.2%) were commonly observed DRPs. A significant direct association was observed between the occurrence of DRPs and number of comorbidities (p<0.001), polypharmacy (p<0.001), and hospital stay (p<0.05). The average number of drugs per prescription was 7.2. Of drugs prescribed, 67.6% were in their generic names. The percentage of encounters in which an antibiotic, injection was prescribed was 65.5% and 89.6% respectively. The percentage of drugs prescribed from an essential drug list was 91.2%. Conclusion: The rate of drug interactions and ADRs was high in treatment of stroke patients. Patients suffering from comorbidities, polypharmacy, and long hospital stay were positively associated with occurrence of DRPs in stroke. Regular monitoring and screening for drug interactions and ADRs were advised to reduce the burden DRPs in stroke patients admitted in a critical care unit.



Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (Suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joban Vaishnav ◽  
Lisa R Yanek ◽  
Virginia S Hahn ◽  
Eunice Yang ◽  
Rishi Trivedi ◽  
...  

Introduction: Inclusion criteria for enrollment in HFpEF clinical trials vary considerably and often exclude patients with co-morbidities such as obesity. We tested the hypotheses that: 1) a large number of patients with clinical and hemodynamic evidence of HFpEF are excluded from major HFpEF clinical trials; and 2) there is no difference in clinical outcomes between patients excluded versus those who met enrollment criteria by evaluating reasons for exclusion from HFpEF clinical trials and comparing clinical outcomes in a real-world HFpEF cohort. Methods: Patients referred to the Johns Hopkins HFpEF Clinic with clinical and hemodynamic evidence of HFpEF (pulmonary capillary wedge pressure [PCWP] ≥ 12 mmHg on a loop diuretic or PCWP ≥ 15 mmHg) were assessed for inclusion into 4 major HFpEF trials (TOPCAT, I-PRESERVE, PARAGON-HF, and RELAX). Cumulative hazard of HF hospitalization or death at 2 years from index clinic visit was compared between patients included and excluded by each trial. Results: Of 132 HFpEF patients, the median PCWP was 19 mmHg (IQR: 15-22 mmHg). Forty-four (33%) of patients met enrollment criteria for TOPCAT, 39 (29%) for I-PRESERVE, 21 (16%) for PARAGON-HF, and 50 (38%) for RELAX. The top 5 criteria that would have excluded patients included low natriuretic peptide level, obesity, elevated blood pressure, young age, and low hemoglobin (Figure 1A) . There was no difference in HF burden (hospitalizations, diuretic dosing, or NYHA class), or in clinical outcomes including HF hospitalization or death between patients who did or did not meet inclusion criteria for each clinical trial (Figure 1B ). Conclusion: We demonstrate that in a real-world cohort of hemodynamically-proven HFpEF few patients would have met criteria for enrollment in major HFpEF clinical trials, yet HF burden and outcomes were no different. Given the lack of proven therapies in HFpEF, consideration should be given to unifying and broadening enrollment criteria in HFpEF clinical trials.



PLoS ONE ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. e0156790 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryu Matsuo ◽  
Tetsuro Ago ◽  
Jun Hata ◽  
Yoshinobu Wakisaka ◽  
Junya Kuroda ◽  
...  


Pharmacia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 883-889
Author(s):  
Ahmed M. Magdy ◽  
Mahmoud A. Seksaka ◽  
Gehan F. Balata

Surgical site infection (SSI) constitutes a major problem in healthcare in terms of healthcare cost, morbidity and mortality. Surgical antibiotic prophylaxis (SAP) is one of the effective strategies for SSI prevention. Poor adherence to SAP guidelines across different countries has been observed. Misuse of prophylactic antibiotics threatens patient safety and leads to an increase in the acquisition of antibiotic resistance. The aim of this study was to assess the utilization of SAP in obstetric and gynecologic procedures in terms of indication for prophylaxis, antibiotic selection, timing of administration and prophylaxis duration. A prospective observational study was conducted at the obstetrics and gynecology department of Zagazig University Hospital during the period from January 2020 to June 2020. Medical records of 264 women were recorded and evaluated. The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) therapeutic guidelines, World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations and The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) practice bulletin were used for data evaluation and hence women were stratified into two groups. For women who underwent procedures in which guidelines recommended the use of SAP (200 patients; 75.75%), 198 women (99%) received preoperative prophylaxis. None of women (0%) received the recommended first line antibiotic by guidelines while the most commonly used prophylactic antibiotics were Cefotaxime (86 patients; 43.43%) and Ampicillin-sulbactam (62 patients; 31.31%). Preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis timing was 0-60 minutes before skin incision. All women received postoperative prophylaxis that extended to an average of 7 days. Regarding the other group who underwent procedures in which prophylactic antibiotics weren’t recommended by guidelines (64 patients; 24.24%), 37 women (57.81%) followed the guidelines and didn’t receive SAP while 27 women (42.18%) received SAP. Poor adherence to guidelines recommendations regarding prophylactic antibiotic selection and prophylaxis duration was observed. High utilization rate of prophylactic antibiotics in procedures that didn’t require their use was reported..



2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-47
Author(s):  
A. Dhanya Mackeen ◽  
John W. Ross ◽  
Alexandria Betz ◽  
Wen Feng ◽  
Jay J. Bringman ◽  
...  

Abstract OBJECTIVES: Our objectives were two-fold: 1) to determine the frequency of discordant umbilical artery Doppler systolic to diastolic (S/D) ratios in the individual umbilical arteries of growth-restricted fetuses and 2) to examine the impact of the frequency of discordance on clinical outcomes. METHODS: This was a prospective, observational study of growth-restricted fetuses. Doppler velocimetry was performed weekly and two S/D ratios were obtained for each fetal umbilical artery. Inter-artery discordance was defined as a difference in measurement categories (i.e., normal, elevated, absent, reversed) between the arteries. The number of abnormal measurements per visit was summed to 0-4 out of 4 values. A composite average number of abnormal Doppler measurements was calculated and fetuses were stratified based on degree of average number of abnormalities in increments of 25%: 0-<25%, 25-<50%, 50-<75%, and 75-100% abnormality. RESULTS: Of a total 241 fetuses (1762 visits), 110 (45.6%) had abnormal UAD flow and 189 (66%) demonstrated discordance. Abnormal values were noted in only one artery in 53% (n=151) of visits. Fetuses with any abnormal Doppler testing had smaller birthweights compared to fetuses with consistently normal testing (2485g vs 2623g, p <0.01); birthweight decreased as composite average of abnormal measurements increased (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: The majority (66%) of fetuses with abnormal testing demonstrated UAD discordance. Up to 53% of fetuses could have been misdiagnosed if only one artery was tested. Fetuses with a higher frequency of Doppler abnormalities had lower birthweights. We propose obtaining two measurements from each umbilical artery in growth-restricted fetuses.



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