Critical care delivery across health care systems in low-income and low-middle-income country settings: A systematic review.

Background: Prior research has demonstrated that low- and low-middle-income countries (LLMICs) bear a higher burden of critical illness and have a higher rate of mortality from critical illness than high-income countries (HICs). There is a pressing need for improved critical care delivery in LLMICs to reduce this inequity. This systematic review aimed to characterise the range of critical care interventions and services delivered within LLMIC health care systems as reported in the literature. Methods: A search strategy using terms related to critical care in LLMICs was implemented in multiple databases. We included English language articles with human subjects describing at least one critical care intervention or service in an LLMIC setting published between 1 January 2008 and 1 January 2020. Results: A total of 1620 studies met the inclusion criteria. Among the included studies, 45% of studies reported on pediatric patients, 43% on adults, 23% on infants, 8.9% on geriatric patients and 4.2% on maternal patients. Most of the care described (94%) was delivered in-hospital, with the remainder (6.2%) taking place in out-of-hospital care settings. Overall, 49% of critical care described was delivered outside of a designated intensive care unit. Specialist physicians delivered critical care in 60% of the included studies. Additional critical care was delivered by general physicians (40%), as well as specialist physician trainees (22%), pharmacists (16%), advanced nursing or midlevel practitioners (8.9%), ambulance providers (3.3%) and respiratory therapists (3.1%). Conclusions: This review represents a comprehensive synthesis of critical care delivery in LLMIC settings. Approximately 50% of critical care interventions and services were delivered outside of a designated intensive care unit. Specialist physicians were the most common health care professionals involved in care delivery in the included studies, however generalist physicians were commonly reported to provide critical care interventions and services. This study additionally characterised the quality of the published evidence guiding critical care practice in LLMICs, demonstrating a paucity of interventional and cost-effectiveness studies. Future research is needed to understand better how to optimise critical care interventions, services, care delivery and costs in these settings. Registration: PROSPERO CRD42019146802.

Critical care service delivery across healthcare systems in low-income and low-middle-income countries: protocol for a systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: Critical care in low-income and low-middle income countries (LLMICs) is an underdeveloped component of the healthcare system. Given the increasing growth in demand for critical care services in LLMICs, understanding the current capacity to provide critical care is imperative to inform policy on service expansion. Thus, our aim is to describe the provision of critical care in LLMICs with respect to patients, providers, location of care and services and interventions delivered. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will search PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science and EMBASE for full-text original research articles available in English describing critical care services that specify the location of service delivery and describe patients and interventions. We will restrict our review to populations from LLMICs (using 2016 World Bank classifications) and published from 1 January 2008 to 1 January 2020. Two-reviewer agreement will be required for both title/abstract and full text review stages, and rate of agreement will be calculated for each stage. We will extract data regarding the location of critical care service delivery, the training of the healthcare professionals providing services, and the illnesses treated according to classification by the WHO Universal Health Coverage Compendium. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Reviewed and exempted by the Stanford University Office for Human Subjects Research and IRB on 20 May 2020. The results of this review will be disseminated through scholarly publication and presentation at regional and international conferences. This review is designed to inform broader WHO, International Federation for Emergency Medicine and partner efforts to strengthen critical care globally. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42019146802.

Global health and the Royal College of Emergency Medicine: a cross-sectional survey of members and fellows.

BACKGROUND: There is growing interest in global health participation among emergency care doctors in the UK. The aim of this paper was to describe the demographics of members and fellows of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine involved in global health, the work they are involved in, as well as the benefits and barriers of this work. METHODS: We conducted a survey to include members and fellows of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine describing the context of their global health work, funding arrangements for global health work and perceived barriers to, and benefits of, global health work. RESULTS: The survey collected 1134 responses of which 439 (38.7%) were excluded. The analysis was performed with the remaining 695 (61.3%) responses. Global health involvement concentrated around South Asia and Africa. Work contexts were mainly direct clinical service (267, 38%), curriculum development (203, 29%) and teaching short courses (198, 28%). Activity was largely self-funded, both international (539, 78%) and from UK (516, 74%). Global health work was not reported to contribute to appraisal by many participants (294, 42.3%). Funding (443, 64%) and protected time (431, 62%) were reported as key barriers to global health productivity. DISCUSSION: Participants largely targeted specialty development and educational activities. Lack of training, funding and supported time were identified as barriers to development. Galvanising support for global health through regional networks and College support for attracting funding and job plan recognition will help UK-based emergency care clinicians contribute more productively to this field.

The burden of trauma presenting to the government referral hospital in Freetown, Sierra Leone: An observational study.

INTRODUCTION: Trauma accounts for a significant proportion of the global burden of disease, with highest mortality rates seen in Africa. This epidemic is predicted to increase with urbanisation and an aim of the Sustainable Development Goals is to reduce deaths and trauma caused by road accidents. Data available on urban trauma in Sierra Leone is limited. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective observational study of trauma and injury related presentations to the emergency centre (EC) of Connaught Hospital, the principal adult tertiary referral centre in Freetown, Sierra Leone between January and March 2016. Patient demographics are described with mechanism of injury. Additional data on length of stay and surgical procedures were recorded for admissions to the trauma ward. RESULTS: During the 3-month period, a total of 340 patients with injury presented to the EC, accounting for 11.6% of total attendances and 68% of adult surgical admissions. The majority were male (66%) and mean age was 26 years (IQR 15-40). The proportion of trauma presentations were higher in the evening and at weekends and 41% of patients were triaged as emergency or very urgent cases. Road traffic accidents were the most frequent cause of injury (55%) followed by falls (17%) and assaults (14%). Burns were more common in children. Head and lower limbs were the most commonly injured body parts and a minority of patients underwent surgical procedures. Median length of stay for adult patients was 4.5 days (IQR 2-11) and 7 days (IQR 4-14) for children. DISCUSSION: Injury accounts for a high burden of disease at Connaught Hospital and consumes a significant proportion of EC and hospital resources. Efforts should be directed towards strengthening the pre-hospital and emergency trauma systems with accurate, formal data collection as well as targeting injury prevention initiatives and improving road safety to reduce morbidity and mortality.

An assessment of nurse-led triage at Connaught Hospital, Sierra Leone in the immediate post-Ebola period.

INTRODUCTION: Nurse-led triage, using the South African Triage Scale, was introduced to the emergency centre of the tertiary referral hospital in Freetown, Sierra Leone in early 2014 prior to the Ebola epidemic. The aim of this study was to measure the effectiveness of the process now that the country has been declared free of Ebola. METHODS: The study was conducted over a five-day consecutive period in the adult emergency centre of the main government teaching hospital in December 2015. The times from arrival to triage and medical assessment were recorded and compared for each triage category. We also assessed the inter-rater reliability of the process. RESULTS: 111 patients were included during the study period. In terms of acuity, 6% were categorised as red, 27% were orange, 20% yellow and 47% green. Triage Early Warning Score was correctly calculated in 90% of cases and there was inter-rater agreement of colour code and triage category on 92% of occasions (k = 0.877, p < 0.001). Median time from triage to assessment was 15 min for red patients, 20 min for orange, 40 min for yellow and 72 min for green. DISCUSSION: The triage process is functioning effectively in the emergency centre after the Ebola epidemic and provides a reliable assessment of undifferentiated patients presenting to the hospital to ensure that they are seen in a timely manner based on acuity.

INTRODUCTION: Le triage réalisé par les infirmières, qui se base sur l'Echelle de triage sud-africaine (SATS, South African Triage Scale), a été introduit au service des urgences de l'hôpital tertiaire de référence de Freetown, en Sierra Leone, au début d'année 2014, avant l'épidémie d'Ebola. L'objectif était d'évaluer l'efficacité du processus maintenant que le risque pour le pays a été déclaré inexistant.Méthodes : L'étude a été menée sur une période consécutive de cinq jours au service des urgences du principal hôpital universitaire public en décembre 2015. Le temps écoulé entre l'arrivée et le triage et l'examen médical a été consigné et comparé pour chaque catégorie de triage. Nous avons également évalué le coefficient d'objectivité du processus. RÉSULTATS: 111 patients ont été inclus sur la période de l'étude. En termes de gravité, 6 % étaient classés en rouge, 27 % en orange, 20 % en jaune et 47 % en vert. La note accordée aux alertes rapides découlant du triage (TEWS, Triage Early Warning Score) a été correctement calculée dans 90 % des cas et la concordance inter-évaluateurs sur les codes couleurs et les catégories de triage a été observée dans 92 % des cas (k = 0,877, p < 0,001). Le temps moyen du triage à l'examen était de 15 minute pour les patients en catégorie rouge, de 20 minute en catégorie orange, 40 minute en catégorie jaune et 72 minute en catégorie verte. DISCUSSION: Le processus de triage fonctionne efficacement au service des urgences après l'épidémie d'Ebola et fournit une évaluation fiable des patients non différentiés se présentant à l'hôpital, afin de s'assurer qu'ils voient un médecin en temps opportun en fonction de la gravité de leur état.

Neutrophil to lymphocyte count ratio as an early indicator of blood stream infection in the emergency department.

OBJECTIVES: Early identification of patients with blood stream infection (BSI), especially bacteraemia, is important as prompt treatment improves outcome. The initial stages of severe infection may be characterised by increased numbers of neutrophils in the peripheral blood and depression of the lymphocyte count (LC). The neutrophil to LC ratio (NLCR) has previously been compared with conventional tests, such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and white cell count (WCC), and has been proposed as a useful marker in the timely diagnosis of bacteraemia. METHODS: Data on consecutive adult patients presenting to the emergency department with pyrexial illness during the study period, November 2009 to October 2010, were analysed. The main outcome measure was positive blood cultures (bacteraemia). Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values and likelihood ratios were determined for NLCR, CRP, WCC, neutrophil count and LC. RESULTS: 1954 patients met the inclusion criteria. Blood cultures were positive in 270 patients, hence the prevalence of bacteraemia was 13.8%. With the exception of WCC, there were significant differences in the mean value for each marker between bacteraemic and non-bacteraemic patients (p<0.001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was highest for NLCR (0.72; 95% CI 0.69 to 0.75) and LC (0.71; 0.68 to 0.74) and lowest for WCC (0.54; 0.40 to 0.57). The sensitivity and specificity of NLCR for predicting bacteraemia were 70% (64% to 75%) and 57% (55% to 60%), respectively. Positive and negative predictive values for NLCR were 0.20 (0.18 to 0.23) and 0.92 (0.91 to 0.94), respectively. The positive likelihood ratio was 1.63 (1.48 to 1.79) and the negative likelihood ratio was 0.53 (0.44 to 0.64). CONCLUSIONS: Although NLCR outperforms conventional markers of infection, it is insufficient in itself to guide clinical management of patients with suspected BSI, and it offers no advantage over LC. However, it may offer some diagnostic utility when taken into account as part of the overall assessment.