Impact of a collaborative childhood anaemia intervention programme in Peru.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the impact of a 12-month multi-modal public health intervention programme for treating and preventing anaemia among children aged 6 months to 4 years in an underserved community in Peru. METHODS: The intervention included nutritional education, use of a Lucky Iron Fish® cooking tool, and dietary supplementation. The primary outcome measure was anaemia resolution. Secondary outcomes included absolute changes in haemoglobin, change in knowledge survey scores and adherence to interventions. Chi-square test and Mann-Whitney U-test were employed to identify associations between anaemia and intervention-related measures. Variables found to be significantly associated in bivariate analysis or of clinical importance were included in a logistic regression model. RESULTS: Of the 406 children enrolled, 256 (63.1%) completed the programme. Of those, 34.0% had anaemia at baseline; this decreased to 13.0% over 12 months. The mean haemoglobin for all ages at baseline was 11.3 g/dL (SD 0.9). At 12 months, the mean was 11.9 g/dL (SD 0.8), with a mean increase of 0.5 g/dL (95% CI 0.4-0.6). Children with anaemia at baseline saw an increase of 1.19 g/dL at the 12-month follow-up (95% CI 1.12-1.37). Parents correctly answered 79.0% of knowledge assessment questions at baseline, which increased to 86.6% at 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: We observed a reduction in the prevalence of mild to moderate anaemia among study participants in this vulnerable population and conclude that multi-modal intervention programmes providing nutrition education in conjunction with low-cost iron supplementation and easy-to-use Lucky Iron Fish® cooking tools may reduce and prevent anaemia in children.

Effects of the intensity of prehospital treatment on short-term outcomes in patients with acute heart failure: the SEMICA-2 study.

OBJECTIVE: Little is known about treatments provided by advanced life support (ALS) ambulance teams to patients with acute heart failure (AHF) during the prehospital phase, and their influence on short-term outcome. We evaluated the effect of prehospital care in consecutive patients diagnosed with AHF in Spanish emergency departments (EDs). METHODS: We selected patients from the EAHFE registry arriving at the ED by ALS ambulances with available follow-up data. We recorded specific prehospital ALS treatments (supplemental oxygen, diuretics, nitroglycerin, non-invasive ventilation) and patients were grouped according to whether they received low- (LIPHT; 0/1 treatments) or high-intensity prehospital therapy (HIPHT; > 1 treatment) for AHF. We also recorded 46 covariates. The primary endpoint was all-cause 7-day mortality, and secondary endpoints were prolonged hospitalisation (> 10 days) and in-hospital and 30-day mortality. Unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios were calculated to compare the groups. RESULTS: We included 1493 patients [mean age 80.7 (10) years; women 54.8%]. Prehospital treatment included supplemental oxygen in 71.2%, diuretics in 27.9%, nitroglycerin in 13.5%, and non-invasive ventilation in 5.3%. The LIPHT group included 1041 patients (70.0%) with an unadjusted OR for 7-day mortality of 1.770 (95% CI 1.115-2.811; p = 0.016), and 1.939 (95% CI 1.114-3.287, p = 0.014) after adjustment for 16 discordant covariables. The adjusted ORs for all secondary endpoints were always > 1 in the LIPHT group, but none reached statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: Patients finally diagnosed with AHF at then ED that have received LIPHT by the ALS ambulance teams have a poorer short-term outcome, especially during the first 7 days.

Home-based HIV testing for men who have sex with men in China: a novel community-based partnership to complement government programs.

BACKGROUND: The coverage of HIV testing among Chinese men who have sex with men (MSM) remains low after the scale-up of free HIV testing at government-sponsored testing sites. We evaluated the feasibility of home-based HIV self-testing and the willingness to be HIV tested at community-based organizations (CBO). METHODS: We recruited MSM via on-line advertisement, where they completed an on-line informed consent and subsequent questionnaire survey. Eligible MSM received HIV rapid testing kits by mail, performed the test themselves and reported the result remotely. RESULTS: Of the 220 men taking a home-based HIV self-testing, 33 MSM (15%) were seropositive. Nearly 65% of the men reported that they were willing to take HIV testing at CBO, while 28% preferred receiving free HIV testing in the government programs at local Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Older and lower-income MSM, those who self-reported homosexual orientation, men with no history of sexually transmitted diseases and a lower number of sexual partners in the past six months were associated with preference for taking HIV testing at CBOs. The top three self-reported existing barriers for HIV testing were: no perception of HIV risk (56%), fear of an HIV positive result being reported to the government (41%), and fear of a positive HIV test result (36%). CONCLUSION: Home-based HIV self-testing is an alternative approach for increasing the coverage of HIV testing among Chinese MSM. CBO-based HIV testing is a potential alternative, but further studies are needed to evaluate its feasibility.

Disparities in trauma: the impact of socioeconomic factors on outcomes following traumatic hollow viscus injury.

BACKGROUND: This piece aims to examine the relationships between hollow viscus injury (HVI) and socioeconomic factors in determining outcomes. HVI has well-defined injury patterns with complex postoperative convalescence and morbidity, representing an ideal focus for identifying potential disparities among a homogeneous injury population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective review included patients admitted to a level I trauma center with HVI from 2000-2009, as identified in the Trauma Registry of the American College of Surgeons. Patients with concomitant significant solid organ or vasculature injury were excluded. US Census (2000) median household income by zip code was used as socioeconomic proxy. Demographic and injury-related variables were also included. Endpoints were mortality and outcomes associated with HVI morbidity. RESULTS: A total of 933 patients with HVI were identified and 256 met inclusion criteria. There were 23 deaths (9.0%), and mortality was not associated with race, gender, income, or payer source. However, lower median household income was significantly associated with longer intervals to ostomy takedown (P = 0.032). Additionally, private payers had significantly lower rates of anastomotic leak (0% [0/73] versus 7.1% [13/183], P = 0.019) and fascial dehiscence (5.5% [4/73] versus 16.9% [31/183], P = 0.016), while self-payers had significantly higher rates of abscess formation, both overall (24% [24/100] versus 10.2% [16/156], P = 0.004) and among penetrating injuries (27.4% [23/84] versus 13.6% [12/88], P = 0.036). CONCLUSIONS: Socioeconomic status may not impact overall mortality among trauma patients with hollow viscus injuries, but private insurance appears to be protective of morbidity related to anastomotic leak, fascial dehiscence, and abscess formation. This supports that socioeconomic disparity may exist within long-term outcomes, particularly regarding payer source.