Malaria diagnostic and treatment practices for febrile children under 5 years at two general hospitals in Karamoja, a high transmission setting in Uganda.

BACKGROUND: Malaria is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among children under 5 years of age in Uganda. Although Karamoja sub-region has the highest prevalence of malaria, and one of the highest case fatality rates in children under 5 years, information on malaria case management for the sub-region is scarce. The study evaluated the malaria diagnostic and treatment practices, as well as the factors associated with inappropriate care for children under 5 years of age presenting with fever in two public hospitals within the sub-region. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted amongst 857 children under 5 years of age who presented with fever at Abim and Kaabong general hospitals between February and March 2020. A questionnaire was administered to the primary caregiver during exit/bedside interviews to collect socio-demographic information. The participant clinical notes were reviewed to capture information on laboratory tests conducted, diagnosis given, and treatment prescribed. In addition, a health facility assessment was conducted and information on healthcare workers was collected. The healthcare worker and facility data was linked to the participant's hospital visit. Main outcome measures were malaria diagnostic and treatment practices. RESULTS: Of the 857 children enrolled, 820 (95.7%) had a malaria diagnostic test done and 623 (76.0%) tested positive for malaria. All test positive children received anti-malarial treatment, however, only 424/623 (68.1%) received the recommended anti-malarial drug and 376/424 (88.7%) received the right dose of the treatment. Inappropriate diagnosis/treatment was in 321 (37.5%) of the enrolled participants. Factors associated with inappropriate diagnosis/treatment included: lack of recommended anti-malarials on the day of the visit (Prevalence Ratio [PR] = 2.1, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.8-2.4), hospital where care was sought (PR = 0.4, 95% CI 0.3-0.5), being managed by a recently supervised health worker (PR = 0.5, 95% CI 0.2-0.9), and health worker cadre (PR = 0.8, 95% CI 0.7-0.9). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of inappropriate malaria diagnosis and treatment in the Karamoja sub-region was high with approximately one in every three children receiving inappropriate care. This was majorly influenced by health system factors, which if improved upon may reduce malaria-related mortalities in the sub-region a vital step in meeting the country's target of zero deaths from malaria by 2030.

Optimal utilization of prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV services among adolescents under group versus focused antenatal care in Eastern Uganda.

BACKGROUND: Group antenatal care (G-ANC), an alternative to focused ANC (F-ANC), involves grouping mothers by gestational and maternal age. In high-income countries, G-ANC has been associated with improved utilization of health care services like Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV services. Some low-resource countries with poor utilization of health care services have piloted G-ANC. However, there is limited evidence of its efficiency. We, therefore, compared G-ANC versus F-ANC with regards to optimal utilization of PMTCT of HIV services and assessed associated factors thereof among adolescent mothers in eastern Uganda. We defined optimal utilization of PMTCT of HIV services as the adolescent being up to date with HIV counseling and testing. If found HIV negative, subsequent timely re-testing. If found HIV positive, initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) under option B plus for the mother. While for the infant, it entailed safe delivery, testing, feeding, and appropriate HIV chemotherapy. METHODS: From February to April 2020, we conducted a cross-sectional study among 528 adolescent mothers in four sites in eastern Uganda. We assessed the optimal utilization of PMTCT of HIV services among adolescent mothers that had attended G-ANC versus F-ANC at the post-natal care or immunization clinics. We also assessed the factors associated with optimal utilization of PMTCT of HIV services among these mothers. RESULTS: Optimal utilization of PMTCT was higher among those in G-ANC than in F-ANC (74.7% vs 41.2, p-0.0162). There was a statistically significant association between having attended G-ANC and optimal utilization of PMTCT [PR = 1.080, 95%CI (1.067-1.093)]. Other factors independently associated with optimal utilization were; having a partner that tested for HIV [PR = 1.075, 95%CI (1.048-1.103)], trimester of first ANC visit: second trimester [PR = 0.929, 95%CI (0.902-0.957)] and third trimester [PR = 0.725, 95%CI (0.616-0.853)], and the health facility attended: Bugembe HCIV [PR = 1.126, 95%CI (1.113-1.139)] and Jinja regional referral hospital [PR = 0.851, 95%CI (0.841-0.861]. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescent mothers under G-ANC had significantly higher optimal utilization of PMTCT of HIV services compared to those under F-ANC. We recommend that the Ministry of Health considers widely implementing G-ANC, especially for adolescent mothers.