Safety and feasibility of autologous adipose-derived stromal vascular fraction in the treatment of keloids: a phase one randomized controlled pilot trial.

INTRODUCTION: Autologous adipose-derived stromal vascular fraction (SVF) has been described to have therapeutic benefits in the treatment of keloids. However, most of the evidence on its efficacy is based on observational studies the majority of which are conducted in high-income countries and yet the highest burden of keloids is in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). OBJECTIVES: We set out to determine the safety and feasibility of using autologous adipose derived stromal vascular fraction in the treatment of keloids in LMICs. METHODS: In this phase II randomized controlled pilot clinical trial conducted in the Plastic Surgery Unit of Kirruddu National Referral Hospital in Kampala Uganda, 8 patients were assigned a 1:1 ratio to either SVF or triamcinolone acetonide (TAC) arms. In the SVF arm, a median (Inter quartile range) amount of stromal cell infiltration of 2.7×106 (11×106) was administered, while the controls received 10 mg/ml TAC at a ratio of 1:1 TAC to keloid volume. Primary endpoints were adverse event development based on the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) v5.0 tool and feasibility assessment based on ≥ 70% recruitment feasibility and ≥ 80% interventional feasibility rates. RESULTS: The participants' mean age was 27.9 (±6.5) years, with a female predilection of 5 (63%). Overall, no adverse events were reported in the SVF arm, while ulceration in a single patient in the TAC arm, which was a grade II adverse event, was reported. Recruitment feasibility of 80% and interventional feasibility with 100% completion were reported. CONCLUSION: Based on our findings, an autologous adipose-derived stromal vascular fraction is feasible and safe for the treatment of keloids in LMICs.

Surgical Apgar score as a predictor of outcomes in patients following laparotomy at Mulago National Referral Hospital, Uganda: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Postoperative complications and mortality following laparotomy have remained high worldwide. Early postoperative risk stratification is essential to improve outcomes and clinical care. The surgical Apgar score (SAS) is a simple and objective bedside prediction tool that can guide a surgeon's postoperative decision making. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of SAS in predicting outcomes in patients undergoing laparotomy at Mulago hospital. METHOD: A prospective observational study was conducted among eligible adult patients undergoing laparotomy at Mulago hospital and followed up for 4 months. We collected data on the patient's preoperative and intraoperative characteristics. Using the data generated, SAS was calculated, and patients were classified into 3 groups namely: low (8-10), medium (5-7), and high (0-4). Primary outcomes were in-hospital major complications and mortality. Data was presented as proportions or mean (standard deviation) or median (interquartile range) as appropriate. We used inferential statistics to determine the association between the SAS and the primary outcomes while the SAS discriminatory ability was determined from the receiver-operating curve (ROC) analysis. RESULTS: Of the 151 participants recruited, 103 (68.2%) were male and the mean age was 40.6 ± 15. Overall postoperative in-hospital major complications and mortality rates were 24.2% and 10.6%, respectively. The participants with a high SAS category had an18.4 times risk (95% CI, 1.9-177, p = 0.012) of developing major complications, while those in medium SAS category had 3.9 times risk (95% CI, 1.01-15.26, p = 0.048) of dying. SAS had a fair discriminatory ability for in-hospital major complications and mortality with the area under the curve of 0.75 and 0.77, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of SAS ≤ 6 for major complications were 60.5% and 81.14% respectively, and for death 54.8% and 81.3%, respectively. CONCLUSION: SAS of ≤ 6 is associated with an increased risk of major complications and/or mortality. SAS has a high specificity with an overall fair discriminatory ability of predicting the risk of developing in-hospital major complications and/or death following laparotomy.

The etiological spectrum of bowel obstruction and early postoperative outcome among neonates at a tertiary hospital in Uganda.

Background: Bowel obstruction is a common surgical emergency in newborns. One-fourth of neonates with obstruction suffer postoperative complications, with high mortality, especially in low-income countries. Factors attributed to mortality include prematurity, late presentation and associated multiple congenital anomalies. The prevalence and the predictors of mortality in our setting have not been well studied. We aimed to describe the early postoperative outcomes and to determine the predictors of mortality among neonates with bowel obstruction. Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study during 4 months, when we recruited postoperative neonates from the pediatric surgery unit of Mulago Hospital. We collected data on demographics, clinical presentations, maternal characteristics, the surgical procedure performed, postoperative outcomes, etc. After follow-up for 2 weeks, we analyzed the data using Cox proportional hazards regression models of predictors of mortality. Results: A total of 76 neonates were recruited, with a male-to-female ratio of 2.2:1. The age ranged from 1 to 26 days, a median of 3 [interquartile range (IQR): 2, 7]. About 67.1% had birth weights ranging between 2.5 kg and 3.5 kg, a mean of 2.8 [standard deviation(SD)=0.64]; 76.3% were termed; with anorectal malformation (ARM), 31.6% as the leading cause, followed by jejunoileal atresia (JIA), 25%. Nearly 55.3% of neonates developed complications; 53.9% with post-operative fever, 15.8% had wound sepsis. The mortality rate was 44.7% (34/76) and was highest among cases of JIA, 41.2%. The predictors of mortality included prematurity, fever at admission, breastfeeding status, and mother's parity as well as the cadre of healthcare providers (p<0.005). Conclusions: ARM is the predominant cause of bowel obstruction among neonates, followed by JIA. The morbidity and mortality due to bowel obstruction among neonates are unacceptably high. The major predictors of mortality were prematurity, fever at admission, and the cadre of the healthcare providers.

Comparison of the PIPAS severity score tool and the QSOFA criteria for predicting in-hospital mortality of peritonitis in a tertiary hospital in Uganda: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The majority of the prognostic scoring tools for peritonitis are impractical in low resource settings because they are complex while others are quite costly. The quick Sepsis-related Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) score and the Physiologic Indicators for Prognosis in Abdominal Sepsis (PIPAS) severity score are two strictly bedside prognostic tools but their predictive ability for mortality of peritonitis is yet to be compared. We compared the predictive ability of the qSOFA criteria and the PIPAS severity score for in-hospital mortality of peritonitis. METHOD: This was a prospective cohort study on consecutive peritonitis cases managed surgically in a tertiary hospital in Uganda between October 2020 to June 2021. PIPAS severity score and qSOFA score were assessed preoperatively for each case and all cases were then followed up intra- and postoperatively until discharge from the hospital, or up to 30 days if the in-hospital stay was prolonged; the outcome of interest was in-hospital mortality. We used Receiver Operating Characteristic curve analysis to assess and compare the predictive abilities of these two tools for peritonitis in-hospital mortality. All tests were 2 sided (p < 0.05) with 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: We evaluated 136 peritonitis cases. Their mean age was 34.4 years (standard deviation = 14.5). The male to female ratio was 3:1. The overall in-hospital mortality rate for peritonitis was 12.5%. The PIPAS severity score had a significantly better discriminative ability (AUC = 0.893, 95% CI 0.801-0.986) than the qSOFA score (AUC = 0.770, 95% CI 0.620-0.920) for peritonitis mortality (p = 0.0443). The best PIPAS severity cut-off score (a score of > = 2) had sensitivity and specificity of 76.5%, and 93.3% respectively, while the corresponding values for the qSOFA criteria (score > = 2), were 58.8% and 98.3% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The in-hospital mortality in this cohort of peritonitis cases was high. The PIPAS severity score tool has a superior predictive ability and higher sensitivity for peritonitis in-hospital mortality than the qSOFA score tool although the latter tool is more specific. We recommend the use of the PIPAS severity score as the initial prognostic tool for peritonitis cases in the emergency department.

High rates of gastroesophageal cancers in patients with dyspepsia undergoing upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in Uganda.

Background and study aims Dyspepsia is the most common presenting symptom in the gastrointestinal clinic of Mulago National Referral hospital. The etiology is essentially not fully described in our patient population. This study was therefore conducted to establish the causes of dyspepsia based on endoscopic diagnosis among patients with dyspepsia seeking care at the National Referral hospital of Uganda. Patients and methods This retrospective study conducted in the endoscopy unit of Mulago hospital reviewed 356 patient endoscopy reports spanning January 2018 to July 2020 with a focus on those with a referral indication of dyspepsia. Age and sex were the independent variables of interest while the endoscopy findings as reported by the endoscopist were the outcome variable of interest. Results Of the 356 endoscopy reports reviewed, 159 met the inclusion criterion of dyspepsia as the indication. Participant mean age was 47.7 years (±â€Š16.53) with the majority (25.79 %) in the fifth decade while the male to female ratio was 1. The majority of patients had organic dyspepsia (90.57 %) while the commonest finding was gastritis 69 (43.4 %). Gastroesophageal cancers represented (18) 11.32 % of all findings. There was a positive association between age > 50 years with gastroesophageal cancers (7.639) as well as age < 50 years and functional dyspepsia (2.794); however, all these were not statistically significant ( P  = 0.006 and ( P  = 0.095, respectively). Conclusions Organic/structural dyspepsia comprises over 90 % of investigated dyspepsia with 11 % comprising cancer among patients seeking endoscopy at the National Referral Hospital of Uganda.

Tuberculosis as a primary cause of oesophageal stricture: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculous (TB) oesophagitis is a rare manifestation of dysphagia occurring in 0.3% of all gastro-intestinal tract TB infections as well as 0.15% of all cases of dysphagia and often is misdiagnosed. This report presents a rare manifestation of TB as a cause of oesophageal stricture. CASE PRESENTATION: We describe a rare presentation of a patient with grade IV dysphagia due to an oesophageal stricture. Oesophagoscopy revealed a pinhole stricture with evidence of high grade dysplasia on histology. Subsequently an Ivor-Lewis oesophagectomy was performed and histology revealed evidence of active oesophageal tuberculosis. The patient had an uneventful recovery and completed anti-TB medication. CONCLUSIONS: Oesophageal TB is a rare but curable cause of dysphagia. It may mimic cancer of the oesophagus and it is usually missed as a possible cause of oesophageal strictures. There needs to be an increased index of suspicion among patients with dysphagia in TB endemic regions.

Degloving injuries with versus without underlying fracture in a sub-Saharan African tertiary hospital: a prospective observational study.

BACKGROUND: Degloving injuries are surgical conditions in which an extensive portion of skin and subcutaneous tissue is detached from the underlying fasciae, muscles, or bone surface. Frequently, there is an association of fracture underlying the degloved area. We aimed to compare the short-term outcomes of degloving injuries with and without underlying fracture. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was conducted. We recruited patients with degloving injuries, and followed them up for 30 days to assess the outcomes. We collected data on socio-demography, cause and mechanism of injury, presence of underlying fracture, presence of shock at admission, injury severity score, location and size of degloving injuries, their management, and short-term outcomes. There were two comparison groups of degloving injuries based on the presence or absence of underlying fracture. We analyzed the differences between the two groups by using Fisher exact test for categorical variables and Student's t test for continuous variables; p values < 0.05 were considered to be significant. Risk ratio was calculated for the short-term outcomes. RESULTS: There were 1.56% (n = 51) of degloving injuries among 3279 admitted trauma patients during the study period of 5 months; 1% (n = 33) with and 0.56% (n = 18) without underlying fracture. For the overall degloving injuries, male-female ratio was 2 and mean age was 28.8 years; they were caused by road traffic crashes in 84%, and resulted in shock at admission in 29%. In the group with underlying fracture, lower limbs were frequently affected in 45% (p = 0.0018); serial debridement and excision of the avulsed flap were the most performed surgical procedures in 22% (p = 0.0373) and 14% (p = 0.0425), respectively; this same group had 3.9 times increased risk of developing poor outcomes (mainly infections) after 30 days and longer hospital stay (26.52 ± 31.31 days, p = 0.0472). CONCLUSION: Degloving injuries with underlying fracture are frequent in the lower limbs, and have increased risk of poor short-term outcomes and longer hospital stay. We recommend an early plastic surgery review at admission of patients with degloving injuries with underlying fracture to improve the flap viability and reduce the infection risk.