A Scoping Review of Kidney Transplantation in Africa: How Far have We Come?

INTRODUCTION: Kidney transplantation is a life-saving treatment for end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) patients. However, access to this treatment in Africa lags behind other regions, leading to significant disparities in care. We aimed to analyse the indications, demographics, and outcomes of kidney transplantation in Africa. METHOD: We conducted a systematic review of studies from PubMed, Google Scholar, and African Journal Online using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. We pooled and analysed data on procedure type, graft outcomes, donor type, prophylaxis, post-operative complications, and survival from 33 eligible studies. RESULT: The most common causes of ESKD requiring transplantation were glomerulonephritis and nephroangiosclerosis. Open nephrectomy was the predominant surgical approach (95%). Living donors accounted for 56.3% (4221) of all donors, with 68.5% being related to the recipient. Cadaveric donors accounted for 43.7% (3280) of transplants. Graft rejection was the most common surgical complication (39.44%), and 60.49% of patients developed hypertension in the follow-up period. CONCLUSION: Our study highlights the potential of kidney transplantation to improve the lives of ESKD patients in Africa. However, further research and infrastructure development are necessary to make this treatment more widespread and successful.

Endoscopic third ventriculostomy versus ventriculoperitoneal shunt insertion for the management of pediatric hydrocephalus in African centers - A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) insertion and endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) are common surgical procedures used to treat pediatric hydrocephalus. There have been numerous studies comparing ETV and VPS, but none from an African perspective. In this study, we sought to compare outcomes from African neurosurgical centers and review the associated complications. Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses were used in conducting this study. PubMed, Google Scholar, and African Journal Online were searched. Data on treatment successes and failures for ETV and VPS were pooled together and analyzed with a binary meta-analysis. A clinically successful outcome was defined as no significant event or complication occurring after surgery and during follow-up (e.g., infection, failure, CSF leak, malfunction, and mortality). Seven studies fully satisfied the eligibility criteria and were used in this review. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the outcomes of ETV and VPS (OR- 0.27; 95% CI -0.39-0.94, P = 0.42). After reviewing the rates of complications of ETV and VPS from the identified studies, four were recurrent. The infection rates of ETV versus VPS were 0.02% versus 0.1%. The mortality rates were 0.01% versus 0.05%. The reoperation rates were 0.05% versus 0.3%, while the rates of ETV failure and shunt malfunction were 0.2% versus 0.2%. Conclusion: This study concludes that there is no significant difference between the outcomes of ETV and VPS insertion.