Assessment of the neonatal referral and transport system for patients with gastroschisis in Kenya.

PURPOSE: To assess the neonatal referral and transport system for gastroschisis patients referred to a tertiary level hospital in Kenya. METHODS: This was a prospective cross-sectional study carried out at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) which recruited patients with gastroschisis using consecutive sampling approach. Data were collected on pre-, intra-transit factors, time and distance covered. Assessment was done using pre and intra transit factors as per the standard transport protocols in literature. RESULTS: Twenty-nine patients presented with gastroschisis during the eight month study period. Mean age was 7.07 h. There were 16 (55.2%) males and 13 (44.8%) females. Mean birthweight was 2020 g, and a mean gestational age of 36.5 weeks. Mean duration of transit was 5 h. Mean distance from referring facility was 153.1 km. Most affected factors in the pre-transit protocol were lack of monitoring chart (0%), comment on blood investigations (0%), gastric decompression (3.4%), and prenatal obstetric scan (44.8%). For intra-transit scores, most affected were incubator use (0%), bowel monitoring (0%), functioning nasogastric tube (13.8%), and adequate bowel cover (34.5%). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that pre-transit and transit care of neonates with gastroschisis is inadequate in Kenya. Interventions needed, as identified by this study, to promote care of neonates with gastroschisis are advised.

Evaluation of Intussusception after Monovalent Rotavirus Vaccination in Africa.

BACKGROUND: Postlicensure evaluations have identified an association between rotavirus vaccination and intussusception in several high- and middle-income countries. We assessed the association between monovalent human rotavirus vaccine and intussusception in lower-income sub-Saharan African countries. METHODS: Using active surveillance, we enrolled patients from seven countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) who had intussusception that met international (Brighton Collaboration level 1) criteria. Rotavirus vaccination status was confirmed by review of the vaccine card or clinic records. The risk of intussusception within 1 to 7 days and 8 to 21 days after vaccination among infants 28 to 245 days of age was assessed by means of the self-controlled case-series method. RESULTS: Data on 717 infants who had intussusception and confirmed vaccination status were analyzed. One case occurred in the 1 to 7 days after dose 1, and 6 cases occurred in the 8 to 21 days after dose 1. Five cases and 16 cases occurred in the 1 to 7 days and 8 to 21 days, respectively, after dose 2. The risk of intussusception in the 1 to 7 days after dose 1 was not higher than the background risk of intussusception (relative incidence [i.e., the incidence during the risk window vs. all other times], 0.25; 95% confidence interval [CI], <0.001 to 1.16); findings were similar for the 1 to 7 days after dose 2 (relative incidence, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.16 to 1.87). In addition, the risk of intussusception in the 8 to 21 days or 1 to 21 days after either dose was not found to be higher than the background risk. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of intussusception after administration of monovalent human rotavirus vaccine was not higher than the background risk of intussusception in seven lower-income sub-Saharan African countries. (Funded by the GAVI Alliance through the CDC Foundation.).

Magnitude of post-urethroplasty urinary tract infections in children with hypospadias at a tertiary hospital in Kenya.

INTRODUCTION: Children who have undergone urethroplasty procedure for hypospadias are at a higher risk of getting urinary tract infections (UTI). This may be due to urethral scarring following urethroplasty that acts as a nidus for UTI. The risk is also attributed to urine stasis due to complications of urethroplasty such as urethral diverticulum, urethral stricture, meatal stenosis or breakdown of urethroplasty. Hypospadias is associated with mullerian duct remnants such as mullerian duct cysts and enlarged prostatic duct utricle which may lead to recurrent UTI. OBJECTIVE: To determine the magnitude of urinary tract infections after urethroplasty for hypospadias in children at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), a tertiary hospital in Kenya. DESIGN: This was a prospective descriptive cross-sectional study of male children with hypospadias who had undergone urethroplasty between January 2014 to December 2018 (5years) at KNH with age range from 6 months to 18 years. Appropriate urine collection method was used to obtain the urine specimen for microscopy, culture and sensitivity tests. Data collected was analyzed using STATA 15. Significance of the results was considered at 95% confidence interval. RESULTS: The total number of patients seen and urine samples collected was 83 boys. The prevalence of UTI following urethroplasty for children with hypospadias was 6% (5/83). They all had UTI symptoms. Of the patients who had UTI, 60% was due to Enterobacter coli, 20% Pseudomonas aeruginosa and 20% Enterobacter cloaca complex. E.coli was 100% sensitive to nitrofurantoin, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid and cefazolin while 33% resistant to ciprofloxacin and Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. Majority of the patients with UTI (80%) had penoscrotal hypospadias and 60% of them developed complications post-operatively. CONCLUSION: Urinary tract infections is not a common finding in children who have undergone urethroplasty for hypospadias at KNH. Patients with penoscrotal hypospadias appears to be at a higher risk of developing UTI in our institution with E. Coli being the commonest bacteria implicated. Antibiotic protocol should be based on local culture and sensitivity pattern.

The effectiveness of digital anal dilatation in preventing anal strictures after anorectal malformation repair.

BACKGROUND: Anal dilatation is performed after repair of anorectal malformations(ARMs) and is vital in prevention of anal stricture formation. The ideal protocol utilizes Hegar dilators. In our setup, few parents will acquire Hegar dilators for home based anal dilatation but majority will use fingers as an alternative. The basis of this study was to determine the effectiveness of digital anal dilatations in preventing anal strictures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) which recruited children post ARM repair undergoing digital anal dilatation. The diameters of the digits used for anal dilatation were assessed for adequacy using the desired anal size as a reference point. The main outcome variable was the presence of anal strictures. Data were entered in a data collection sheet and analyzed by use of SPSS (V.21.0 Chicago, Illinois). Chi-square test and Fisher's exact test were used to ascertain association among variables. A P-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: 50 patients with ARM post repair were recruited in the study. The rate of occurrence of anal stricture was 22%. Among the participants with anal strictures, only 27% were compliant to the dilatation regimen while 73% reported noncompliance. The mean diameter(mm) of the dilating digits at the level of the middle phalanx was Index finger (15.4 ±â€¯0.58), middle finger (15.2 ±â€¯0.61), ring finger (14.2 ±â€¯0.71), small finger (12.5 ±â€¯0.91) and thumb (17.6 ±â€¯0.78). 46% of the participants were dilated with appropriately sized digits. The remainder had dilatations done with larger (22%) or smaller digits (32%). Notably, anal strictures occurred in participants who were dilated with inappropriately sized digits (P = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Digital anal dilatation is safe and effective as a mode of anal dilation in the setting of compliance to a strict dilatation protocol, daily frequency of dilations and use of appropriately sized digits. Owing to the variability in the finger size, we recommend that digits be calibrated and education given to the caregivers on the use of the appropriately sized digit. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Treatment study. Level III.

Intussusception Cases Among Children Admitted to Referral Hospitals in Kenya, 2002-2013: Implications for Monitoring Postlicensure Safety of Rotavirus Vaccines in Africa.

To describe the epidemiology of intussusception before introduction of the rotavirus vaccine, we reviewed the records of 280 patients younger than 5 years who were hospitalized in Kenya between 2002 and 2013. The patients who died (18 [6.4%]) had sought care later after symptom onset than the patients who survived (median, 5 vs 3 days, respectively; P = .04). Seeking prompt care may improve therapeutic outcomes.