ABSTRACT
Background: Hypoxia is a common presentation in the Emergency Department (ED) worldwide. It affects 9-12% of hospitalized adults in Sub-Saharan Africa. Timely diagnosis of the multiple causes such as pneumonia, heart failure among others is challenging. Chest X-Ray (CXR), one of the most utilized imaging modalities has many limitations, and the gold standard (Computed Tomography scan) is inaccessible. Point of care ultrasound (PoCUS) is more available and increasingly being used, however little is known of its performance in resource limited EDs. The study aimed to assess the diagnostic performance of PoCUS compared with CXR in identifying the causes of hypoxia in the medical ED. Methods: 49 adults presenting with hypoxia (SP02 ≤ 88%) in the medical ED were evaluated. Ultrasound of the lungs and heart (PoCUS) was done, then CXR obtained. Lung ultrasound (LUS) was compared with CXR (first reference standard). Chest X-Ray and PoCUS were each compared to the physician diagnosis (second reference standard) to determine agreement using an acceptable disagreement cut-off of 15%. Results: 31% more abnormalities were identified by LUS than CXR. Lung ultrasound findings agreed with CXR in 86% of the participants with moderate reliability (ĸ=0.75). There was no significant difference between the actual findings of the two tests (X2= 2, p 0.1). Using the second reference, 82% of the CXRs were similar with weak reliability (ĸ=0.5) compared to 98% of PoCUS findings with strong reliability (ĸ=0.9). Compared to PoCUS, CXRs significantly differed from the physician diagnosis (X2= 0.85, p 0.38 vs X2= 8.5, p 0.004 respectively). Conclusion: Overall, PoCUS was not inferior to CXR when compared to final physician diagnosis in identifying causes of hypoxia, and LUS and CXR had comparable performance. Significantly more abnormalities were identified on PoCUS and it demonstrated better agreement and strong reliability with the physician diagnosis than CXR. We recommend PoCUS use in patients with hypoxia attending resource limited in- and pre-hospital settings.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Although the global suicide deaths due to intentional pesticide poisoning disproportionately occur in low income countries (LIC) and lower to middle income Countries (LMIC), there is a scarcity of reports on emergency centre (EC) mortality and its predictors in these settings. Our goal was to determine the case fatality rate of Acute Pesticide Poisoning (APP) presenting to Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital (MRRH) EC and find out whether initial triage category predicted mortality in these patients. Methods: This was a prospective observational longitudinal study. Patients presenting with APP were enrolled using data collection forms. Data collected included initial triage category, vital signs, demographics, initial assessment, and management. They were followed up for 1 week. Results: Out of 66 patients admitted with suspected pesticide poisoning, 61 had complete follow up during the study period. However, only 58 patients had the pesticide ingested confirmed. These were predominantly males 48 (73%) and farmers 28(42%) with a median age of 23 years (IQR 18-31). Majority of patients 58 (88%) were suicide attempts and had ingested mostly organophosphates 23 (35%), amitraz 11(17%), zinc phosphide 7(10%), and aluminium phosphide 4(6%). The median time from ingestion to presentation was 4hours (IQR 2.5-8). More than half 41(62%) of the patients were in the red triage category (ESI-1). The overall case fatality rate of APP was 18%. Majority of patients who died were in the red triage category but the initial triage category was not significantly associated with mortality (p=0.381). Male gender (p=0.018), time of admission (p= 0.037), and triage vitals including hypothermia (p=0.020), hypoxia (p= 0.004), hypotension (p= 0.031), and tachypnea (p= 0.031) were significantly associated with mortality. Discussion: Although initial triage category was a poor predictor, triage vital signs, gender, and time of admission were significantly associated with mortality in patients with APP.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: The Emergency Department (ED) of Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital serves a largely rural population of 4 million people in western Uganda. Here, ED patients with incurable illness often have prolonged stays. Palliative care (PC) is a low-cost intervention that focuses on alleviating pain and suffering for patients with incurable disease, while improving satisfaction with care and optimizing healthcare utilization. This is especially important in low resource settings. A prior needs assessment in our ED revealed that 50% of patients have PC needs. The ED is an optimal location to initiate PC, yet this rarely happens. There is a great need to identify factors affecting initiation of ED PC in our resource-limited setting. METHODS: A semi-structured questionnaire and chart review was conducted from March to August 2020. Patients admitted from the ED were assessed for PC needs. Those who met criteria were approached for inclusion and flagged for initiation of PC. The follow-up period was 7 days. RESULTS: Sixty two percent of those subjects flagged for initiation of PC received it. By day seven, 36.1 of the study population had died. ED initiation of PC varied significantly by diagnosis, with cancer patients more likely to receive PC (p = 0.0097). CONCLUSION: Important barriers to PC initiation were identified in our Ugandan ED, related to diagnosis. These barriers could be overcome by improving awareness of PC amongst patients and providers alike and implementing a PC screening tool for all admissions. Future research is needed to identify other barriers, as well as strategies for improved hospital-wide uptake of PC in this resource-limited setting.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Causes, clinical presentation, management, and outcomes of chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) in low- and middle-income countries are not well characterized in the literature. Knowledge regarding these factors would be beneficial in the development and implementation of effective preventive and management measures for affected patients. The authors conducted a study to gain a better understanding of these factors in a low-income setting. METHODS: This prospective study was performed at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital (MRRH) in Uganda between January 2014 and June 2017. Patients of any age who presented and were diagnosed with CSDH during the aforementioned time period were included in the study. Variables were collected from patients' files at discharge and follow-up clinic visits. The primary outcome of interest was death. Secondary outcomes of interest included discharge Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score, ICU admission, wound infection, and CSDH recurrence. RESULTS: Two hundred five patients, the majority of whom were male (147 [72.8%]), were enrolled in the study. The mean patient age was 60.2 years (SD 17.7). Most CSDHs occurred as a result of motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) and falls, 35.6% (73/205) and 24.9% (51/205), respectively. The sex ratio and mean age varied depending on the mechanism of injury. Headache was the most common presenting symptom (89.6%, 173/193), whereas seizures were uncommon (11.5%, 23/200). Presenting symptoms differed by age. A total of 202 patients underwent surgical intervention with burr holes and drainage, and 22.8% (46) were admitted to the ICU. Two patients suffered a recurrence, 5 developed a postoperative wound infection, and 18 died. Admission GCS score was a significant predictor of the discharge GCS score (p = 0.004), ICU admission (p < 0.001), and death (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Trauma from an MVC is the commonest cause of CSDH among the young. For the elderly, falling is common, but the majority have CSDH with no known cause. Although the clinical presentation is broad, there are several pronounced differences based on age. Burr hole surgery plus drainage is a safe and reliable intervention. A low preoperative GCS score is a risk factor for ICU admission and death.
