Early infant diagnosis of HIV infection at the John F. Kennedy Medical Center, Monrovia, Liberia.

Background: Vertical transmission accounts for majority of new HIV infections among children worldwide. Ninety percent of HIV-positive children reside in Sub- Saharan Africa with their infection predominantly acquired via vertical transmission. In 2004, the vertical transmission rate of HIV in Africa was estimated at 25 - 40% but, remarkably, the rate has significantly decreased to less than 5% in most African countries following implementation and expansion of prevention of MTCT (PMTCT) programs.Objective: To determine the rate of and factors associated with vertical transmission of HIV among attendees of early infant diagnosis (EID) program of an academic and community-based tertiary facility in Liberia.Design: A retrospective cross-sectional analysis.Methods: A retrospective review of medical records of babies seen at Pediatric Unit of Infectious Disease Clinic of John F Kennedy Medical Center (JFKMC) in Monrovia, Liberia between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2020. All subjects were children born to HIV-positive mothers and who had HIV DNA PCR testing performed between the ages of 6 weeks and 6 months. Children who suffered early neonatal death and those who did not undergo PCR testing were excluded. Demographics of mother to child pairs as well as factors known to influence vertical transmission of HIV such as partial (15.8%) or full (84.2%) participation in prevention of MTCT (PMTCT) programs, mode of delivery, breastfeeding and utilization of post-exposure prophylaxis were collected and assessed. Binomial logistic regression analyses were used to assess factors associated with vertical transmission.Results: During the study timeframe, 284 children had a HIV DNA PCR test with a male:female ratio - 1.3:1. Sixteen tested positive (conducted at a mean of 155 days post birth) giving a vertical transmission rate of 5.6%. For 239 mothers (84.2%) who had full PMTCT, 1.3% of their children tested positive, while for 45 mothers (15.8%) who had partial PMTCT, 28.8% of their children being positive. Two hundred and seventy six children (97%) had exclusive breastfeeding, 13 of whom tested positive while 2 children who were mixed fed tested positive. Children who had Nevirapine vs no prophylaxis (OR = 1.89[95% CI 1.16 - 2.96]), were delivered via caesarian section vs vaginal delivery (OR= 2.26[95% CI 1.92 - 4.12].) and full versus partial participation in PMTCT programs (OR = 4.02[95% CI 2.06 - 4.13] were more likely to have negative HIV test.Conclusion: Vertical transmission rate was found to be high in Liberia and may be driven by suboptimal PMTCT program participation including post-exposure prophylaxis for infants. Therefore, strategies to scale up and improve uptake of PMTCT services are needed to mitigate the burden of HIV among children.

Childhood pneumonia and crowding, bed-sharing and nutrition: a case-control study from The Gambia.

SETTING: Greater Banjul and Upper River Regions, The Gambia. OBJECTIVE: To investigate tractable social, environmental and nutritional risk factors for childhood pneumonia. DESIGN: A case-control study examining the association of crowding, household air pollution (HAP) and nutritional factors with pneumonia was undertaken in children aged 2-59 months: 458 children with severe pneumonia, defined according to the modified WHO criteria, were compared with 322 children with non-severe pneumonia, and these groups were compared to 801 neighbourhood controls. Controls were matched by age, sex, area and season. RESULTS: Strong evidence was found of an association between bed-sharing with someone with a cough and severe pneumonia (adjusted OR [aOR] 5.1, 95%CI 3.2-8.2, P < 0.001) and non-severe pneumonia (aOR 7.3, 95%CI 4.1-13.1, P < 0.001), with 18% of severe cases estimated to be attributable to this risk factor. Malnutrition and pneumonia had clear evidence of association, which was strongest between severe malnutrition and severe pneumonia (aOR 8.7, 95%CI 4.2-17.8, P < 0.001). No association was found between pneumonia and individual carbon monoxide exposure as a measure of HAP. CONCLUSION: Bed-sharing with someone with a cough is an important risk factor for severe pneumonia, and potentially tractable to intervention, while malnutrition remains an important tractable determinant.

Implementation and 8-year follow-up of an uninterrupted oxygen supply system in a hospital in The Gambia.

SETTING: A 42-bed hospital operated by the Medical Research Council (MRC) Unit in The Gambia. OBJECTIVE: To devise, test and evaluate a cost-efficient uninterrupted oxygen system in the MRC Hospital. DESIGN: Oxygen cylinders were replaced with oxygen concentrators as the primary source of oxygen. An uninterruptable power supply (UPS) ensured continuity of power. Hospital staff were trained on the use of the new system. Eight years post-installation, an analysis of concentrator maintenance needs and costs was conducted and user feedback obtained to assess the success of the system. RESULTS: The new system saved at least 51% of oxygen supply costs compared to cylinders, with savings likely to have been far greater due to cylinder leakages. Users indicated that the system is easier to use and more reliable, although technical support and staff training are still needed. CONCLUSION: Oxygen concentrators offer long-term cost savings and an improved user experience compared to cylinders; however, some technical support and maintenance are needed to upkeep the system. A UPS dedicated to oxygen concentrators is an appropriate solution for settings where power interruptions are frequent but short in duration. This approach can be a model for health systems in settings with similar infrastructure.

Challenges and Opportunities for Neonatal Respiratory Support in Nigeria: a Case for Regionalisation of Care

Background: Neonatal health appears not to have received the deserved attention in the context of the Child Survival Strategies and this must have contributed to the non-attainment of the MDG-4 in Nigeria. Neonatal mortality contributes 40% or more to the current rate of child deaths globally; with birth asphyxia; prematurity and its complications and severe infections as the leading causes. This emphasises the need to re-focus on neonatal health. Given the state of the economy in the low- and middle-income countries; Nigeria; like most of the other countries lack the resources required for efficient neonatal health care with minimal attention on the strategies needed to address the major causes of newborn death.Objectives: To assess the contemporary situation of neonatal care in Benin City; Nigeria and examine diverse approaches to be adopted to provide high level neonatal care services aimed at improving neonatal survival rates.Methods: The trends of neonatal morbidities and mortality over the period between 1974 and 2014 were studied by reviewing the hospital records covering admissions and weekly mortality records. The pattern of categories of babies and the causes of death were recorded. The information gathered identified the gaps in the management strategies for newborns over the years. Electronic databases such as the Medline and Pubmed were searched for relevant literatures published between 1960 and 2015 which might provide ideas required to fill the gaps.Results: In the 1974-1976 era; the major cause of neonatal mortality at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH); Benin City; Nigeria; was birth asphyxia with an attendant perinatal mortality of 80.9/1000 births. The decline in the perinatal mortality to 33.4/1000 births between 1976 and 1980 was linked to the introduction of delivery room resuscitation with a reciprocal decline in the incidence of birth asphyxia. Thereafter; neonatal mortality rate has continued to increase. This increase could be attributed to a three-fold rise in the proportion of very preterm admissions from 6.5% in 1985 to 19.3% in 2013. This population of babies is predisposed to Respiratory Distress Syndrome and respiratory failure. Neonatal intensive care did not include respiratory supports until very recently (2013) when the facilities were provided but at high cost to the patient and the health system.Conclusion: The strategies required to address reduction in neonatal mortality rates should necessarily include neonatal resuscitation and mechanical ventilation; all within the context of Neonatal Intensive Care. In order to provide the full range of neonatal intensive care services in a resource- constrained setting such as Benin City; Nigeria; regionalisation of care in a stepwise manner is recommended; both for improved medical outcomes and economic realities

Management of persistent purulent pericarditis using streptokinase for intrapericardial fibrinolysis.

Purulent pericarditis (PP) is a very serious condition with almost 100% mortality if untreated. Intrapericardial fibrinolysis is a preferred alternative to pericardectomy in the treatment of persistent PP, but there are no consensus guidelines on the standard protocol for this procedure in children. A 9-year-old boy was referred to the Medical Research Council Unit in The Gambia (MRC). He had been unwell for 18 days with a high continuous fever, cough, fast breathing, and dyspnoea on exertion. Prior to referral he had been treated for malaria and pneumonia with no improvement. At the MRC, he was diagnosed with purulent pericarditis caused by Staphylococcus aureus and after admission he was managed for 4 weeks with intravenous antibiotics, pericardial aspirations followed by saline lavage of the pericardium and intrapericardial antibiotic instillation. Despite these measures, massive re-accumulation of the purulent pericardial effusion continued. Once daily intrapericardial instillation of streptokinase at a dose of 18,000 i.u/kg diluted in 50 ml of normal saline, and saline washout of the pericardium after 2 hours was commenced on the 29th day of admission, in addition to the antibiotics. This technique of fibrinolysis employed for 2 days was effective in managing the persistent purulent pericarditis when pericardial aspiration and intravenous and intrapericardial antibiotics failed.

Foreign Body Aspiration and Tuberculosis: Possible Misdiagnosis

Childhood tuberculosis (TB) is common in developing countries whereas foreign body aspiration is relatively less frequently diagnosed. This report is of a child contact (same household) of a smear-positive index case who presented with suggestive clinical features; and was admitted as a case of pulmonary TB; but subsequently found to have an aspirated foreign body was accounting for his symptoms. Due to the similarity in the clinical features of a delayed clinical presentation of foreign body aspiration with pulmonary TB; clinicians attending to children with chronic respiratory pathology in a TB-endemic area should be mindful of the possibility of a foreign body in the airway and should always carefully review chest radiographs

Transthoracic lung aspiration for the aetiological diagnosis of pneumonia: 25 years of experience from The Gambia.

Pneumonia remains the leading cause of death in young children worldwide. Global pneumonia control depends on a good understanding of the aetiology of pneumonia. Percutaneous transthoracic aspiration culture is much more sensitive than blood culture in identifying the aetiological agents of pneumonia. However, the procedure is not widely practised because of lack of familiarity with it and concerns about potential adverse events. We review the diagnostic usefulness and safety of this procedure over 25 years of its use in research and routine practice at the UK Medical Research Council (MRC), The Gambia, and give a detailed description of the procedure itself. Published materials were identified from the MRC's publication database and systematic searches using the PubMed/Medline and Google search engines. Data from a current pneumonia aetiology study in the unit are included together with clinical experience of staff practising at the unit over the period covered in this review. A minimum of 500 lung aspirates were performed over the period of review. Lung aspiration produces a greater yield of diagnostic bacterial isolates than blood culture. It is especially valuable clinically when pathogens not covered by standard empirical antibiotic treatment, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Staphylococcus aureus, are identified. There have been no deaths following the procedure in our setting and a low rate of other complications, all transient. Lung aspiration is currently the most sensitive method for diagnosing pneumonia in children. With appropriate training and precautions it can be safely used for routine diagnosis in suitable referral hospitals.