Cefepime versus Ceftriaxone for perioperative systemic antibiotic prophylaxis in elective orthopedic surgery at Bugando Medical Centre Mwanza, Tanzania: a randomized clinical study.

BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial prophylaxis reduces the incidence of postoperative wound infections especially among patients undergoing orthopedics surgery. However, there is dearth of information on the clinical effectiveness, spectrum limitations and practical contextual information on third and fourth generation cephalosporins. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of cefepime and ceftriaxone as peri-operative systemic antimicrobial prophylaxis in elective orthopedic surgery in our center. METHODS: This study was a prospective, randomized, open label comparative clinical study of patients undergoing elective orthopedic procedures at the Bugando Medical Centre (BMC) between June 2014 and February 2015. Two hundred thirty participants were enrolled in the study and randomly assigned into Ceftriaxone regimen (group A) or Cefepime regimen (group B). Participants in ceftriaxone or cefepime group received 50 mg/kg up to 2 g single dose perioperative intravenous infusion at least 30 min before incision. Both groups were followed for 30 days using a Center for Disease Control superficial surgical site infection criterion for the outcome. A two-tailed margin of equivalence was set at 5% analyzed on the intent to treat. RESULTS: All 230 participants were subjected to final analysis with no patient being lost to follow-up. Superficial surgical site infection occurred in 5 out of 117 (4.3%, 0.6 to 7.9 at 95% CI) patients receiving cefepime compared to 3 out of 113 (2.7%, 0.3 to 5.6 at 95% CI) among patients receiving ceftriaxone regimen. The absolute difference of 1.6% (95% Confidence Interval: -6.3 to 3.1), equivocally lies outside the 5% statistically significant margin of presumed clinical equivalence. CONCLUSION: The difference between cefepime and ceftriaxone in preventing SSIs following elective clean orthopedic surgery was not statistically significant. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Pan African Clinical Trial Registry: PACTR201406000803420.

Etiology, treatment outcome and prognostic factors among patients with secondary peritonitis at Bugando Medical Centre, Mwanza, Tanzania.

INTRODUCTION: Secondary peritonitis due to perforation of the gastrointestinal tract is one of the most common surgical emergencies all over the world and is associated with significantly morbidity and mortality. Previous studies conducted at Bugando Medical Centre (BMC) were retrospective and each was focused on single etiology; therefore there was an obvious need to evaluate the etiologies, treatment outcome and their prognostic factors altogether. METHODS: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study involving patients with secondary peritonitis admitted at BMC from May 2014 to April 2015. Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics among consented patients were collected using questionnaires. Peritoneal aspirate, biopsy and blood were collected perioperatively and processed using standard operating procedures. Analysis was done using STATA version 11 software. RESULTS: The study enrolled 97 patients with the female to male ratio of 1:1.8 and approximately 41.2 % (40/97) were in their third and fourth decades of life. Only 3 (3.09 %) patients arrived to the hospital within 24 hours of onset of illness, 26 (26.80 %) patients presented with shock and HIV seropositivity among all patients was 13.40 % (13/97). The common etiologies of secondary peritonitis were perforated appendicitis 23 (23.71 %), peptic ulcer disease 18 (18.56 %), ischemia 18 (18.56 %) and typhoidal perforation 15 (15.46 %). Of the 97 patients, 35 (36.08 %) had complications and 15 (15.46 %) died. Presence of premorbid illness and post-operative complication were found to be associated with death (p values = 0.004 and <0.001 respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The most common etiologies of secondary peritonitis at BMC are perforated appendicitis, peptic ulcer disease, ischemia and typhoidal perforation. Premorbid illness and postoperative complications in this setting are associated with death and as the matter of fact proper screening on admission should be done to identify patients with premorbid illness and confer prompt management.

Cryptococcal meningitis management in Tanzania with strict schedule of serial lumber punctures using intravenous tubing sets: an operational research study.

BACKGROUND: Cryptococcal meningitis (CM) has a mortality rate of ∼70% among HIV-infected adults in low-income countries. Controlling intracranial pressure (ICP) is essential in CM, but it is difficult in low-income countries because manometers and practical ICP management protocols are lacking. METHODS: As part of a continuous quality improvement project, our Tanzanian hospital initiated a new protocol for ICP management for CM. All adult inpatients with CM are included in a prospective patient registry. At the time of analysis, this registry included data from 2 years before the initiation of this new ICP management protocol and for a 9-month period after. ICP was measured at baseline and at days 3, 7, and 14 by both manometer and intravenous (IV) tubing set. All patients were given IV fluconazole according to Tanzanian treatment guidelines and were followed until 30 days after admission. RESULTS: Among adult inpatients with CM, 32 of 35 patients (91%) had elevated ICP on admission. Cerebrospinal fluid pressure measurements using the improvised IV tubing set demonstrated excellent agreement (r = 0.96) with manometer measurements. Compared with historical controls, the new ICP management protocol was associated with a significant reduction in 30-day mortality (16/35 [46%] vs. 48/64 [75%] in historical controls; hazard ratio = 2.1 [95% CI: 1.1 to 3.8]; P = 0.018]. CONCLUSIONS: Increased ICP is almost universal among HIV-infected adults admitted with CM in Tanzania. Intensive ICP management with a strict schedule of serial lumbar punctures reduced in-hospital mortality compared with historical controls. ICP measurement with IV tubing sets may be a good alternative in resource-limited health facilities where manometers are not available.

Evaluation of detection methods for Campylobacter infections among under-fives in Mwanza City, Tanzania.

INTRODUCTION: Campylobacter species are recognized as a major cause of acute gastroenteritis in humans throughout the world. The diagnosis is mainly based on stool culture. This study was done to evaluate the effectiveness of staining methods (Gram stain using 0.3% carbol fuchsin as counter stain and 1% carbol fuchsin direct stain) versus culture as the gold standard. METHODS: A total of 300 children attending Bugando Medical Centre (BMC) and the Sekou Toure regional hospital with acute watery diarrhea were enrolled. Two sets of slides were prepared stained with 1% carbol fuchsin for 30 seconds first set, and the second set stained with Gram's stain using 0.3% carbol fuchsin as counter stain for five minutes. Concurrently, stool samples were inoculated on Preston Agar selective. RESULTS: Of 300 stool specimens, 14(4.7%) showed positive culture after 48 hours of incubation and 28 (9.3%) shows typical morphology of Campylobacter species by both Gram stain and direct stain. The sensitivity of the Gram stain using 0.3% carbol fuchsin as counter stain and 1% carbol fuchsin simple stain versus culture as gold standard was 64.3%, with a specificity of 93.4%. The positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 32.1% and 98.2% respectively. CONCLUSION: The detection of Campylobacter by 1% carbol fuchsin is simple, inexpensive, and fast, with both a high sensitivity and specificity. Laboratories in settings with high prevalence of campylobacteriosis and/or limited resources can employ 1% carbol fuchsin direct stain in detecting campylobacter infections.

External ocular surface bacterial isolates and their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns among pre-operative cataract patients at Mulago National Hospital in Kampala, Uganda.

BACKGROUND: Endophthalmitis is a severe complication of cataract surgery which leads to high ocular morbidity and visual loss even with antibiotic treatment. Bacterial ocular floras are the implicated causative agents. This study was undertaken to evaluate the external ocular surface bacterial isolates and their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns among pre-operative cataract patients at Mulago National Hospital. METHODS: This cross sectional study enrolled consecutively 131 patients scheduled for routine cataract surgery in the Department of Ophthalmology at Mulago National Hospital in Kampala, Uganda. Eyelid margin and conjunctival swabs were collected and processed using standard microbiological procedures to identify bacterial isolates and their respective antimicrobial susceptibility patterns. RESULTS: Of 131 patients involved (mean age 63.3 ± 14.5 years), 54.2% (71/131) were females. The eyelid margin and conjunctival samples were culture positive in 59.5% (78/138) and 45.8% (60/138) respectively. The most common organisms identified were Coagulase-negative Staphylococci (CoNS) [65.9% (91/138)] and Staphylococcus aureus [21.0% (29/138)]. CoNS showed the highest resistance to tetracycline (58.2%, 53/91) and erythromycin (38.5%, 35/91), whereas in S. aureus the resistance to tetracycline and erythromycin were 55.2% (16/29) and 31.0% (9/29) respectively. Methicillin resistant CoNS (MRS) and Methicillin resistance S. aureus (MRSA) were 31.9% (29/91) and 27.6% (8/29) respectively. There were low resistance rates for CoNS, S. aureus and other bacterial isolates to ciprofloxacin (11.1%-24.2%), gentamicin (5.6-31.0%), tobramycin (17.2% -25.3%) and vancomycin (0.0%). CONCLUSION: CoNS and S. aureus are the most common bacterial isolates found on the external ocular surface of the pre-operative cataract patients. Ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, tobramycin and vancomycin showed the lowest resistance rates to all bacterial isolates, therefore may be used to reduce bacteria load in the conjunctiva sac among cataract patients prior to surgery.

Molecular characterization of Staphylococcus aureus from patients with surgical site infections at Mulago Hospital in Kampala, Uganda.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is progressively increasing globally with significant regional variation. Understanding the Staphylococcus aureus lineages is crucial in controlling nosocomial infections. Recent studies on S. aureus in Uganda have revealed an escalating burden of MRSA. However, the S. aureus genotypes circulating among patients are not known. Here, we report S. aureus lineages circulating in patients with surgical site infections (SSI) at Mulago National hospital, Kampala, Uganda. METHODS: A cross-sectional study involving 314 patients with SSI at Mulago National Hospital was conducted from September 2011 to April 2012. Pus swabs from the patients' SSI were processed using standard microbiological procedures. Methicillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) and MRSA were identified using phenotypic tests and confirmed by PCR-detection of the nuc and mecA genes, respectively. SCCmec genotypes were determined among MRSA isolates using multiplex PCR. Furthermore, to determine lineages, spa sequence based-genotyping was performed on all S. aureus isolates. RESULTS: Of the 314 patients with SSI, S. aureus accounted for 20.4% (64/314), of which 37.5% (24/64) were MRSA. The predominant SCCmec types were type V (33.3%, 8/24) and type I (16.7%, 4/24). The predominant spa lineages were t645 (17.2%, 11/64) and t4353 (15.6%, 10/64), and these were found to be clonally circulating in all the surgical wards. On the other hand, lineages t064, t355, and t4609 were confined to the obstetrics and gynecology wards. A new spa type (t10277) was identified from MSSA isolate. On multivariate logistic regression analysis, cancer and inducible clindamycin resistance remained as independent predictors of MRSA-SSI. CONCLUSION: SCCmec types I and V are the most prevalent MRSA mecA types from the patients' SSI. The predominant spa lineages (t645 and t4353) are clonally circulating in all the surgical wards, calling for strengthening of infection control practices at Mulago National Hospital.

Antimicrobial resistance in hospitalized surgical patients: a silently emerging public health concern in Uganda.

BACKGROUND: Surgical site infections (SSIs) are difficult to treat and are associated with substantially longer hospital stay, higher treatment cost, morbidity and mortality, particularly when the etiological agent is multidrug-resistant (MDR). To address the limited data in Uganda on SSIs, we present the spectrum of bacteria isolated from hospitalized patients, the magnitude and impact of MDR bacterial isolates among patients with SSIs. METHODS: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted from September 2011 through April 2012 involving 314 patients with SSIs in the obstetrics & gynecology, general surgery and orthopedic wards at Mulago National Hospital in Kampala, Uganda. Wound swabs were taken and processed using standard microbiological methods. Clinico-demographic characteristics of patients were obtained using structured questionnaires and patients' files. RESULTS: Of the 314 enrolled patients with SSIs (mean age 29.7 ±13.14 years), 239 (76.1%) were female. More than half of the patients were from obstetrics and gynecology (62.1%, 195/314). Of 314 wound swabs taken, 68.8% (216/314) were culture positive aerobically, yielding 304 bacterial isolates; of which 23.7% (72/304) were Escherichia coli and 21.1% (64/304) were Staphylococcus aureus. More than three quarters of Enterobacteriaceae were found to be extended spectrum beta lactamase (ESBL) producers and 37.5% of S. aureus were Methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA). MDR occurred in 78.3% (238/304) of the isolates; these were more among Gram-negative bacteria (78.6%, 187/238) compared to Gram-positive bacteria (21.4%, 51/238), (p-value < 0.0001, χ2 = 49.219). Amikacin and imepenem for ESBL-producing Enterobacteriacea and vancomycin for MRSA showed excellent performance except that they remain expensive drugs in Uganda. CONCLUSION: Most SSIs at Mulago National Hospital are due to MDR bacteria. Isolation of MRSA and ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae in higher proportions than previously reported calls for laboratory guided SSIs- therapy and strengthening of infection control surveillance in this setting.