Advancing complex hepato-pancreato-biliary surgery in Uganda: Challenges and outcomes.

INTRODUCTION: Uganda has until recently mostly referred patients for complex hepato-pancreato-biliary (HPB) surgery abroad due to lack of local expertize. We report indications and a spectrum of surgeries performed in the first 4 years following the establishment of a routine HPB service at Lubaga Hospital (LH), Kampala, Uganda. We also detailed the challenges encountered in setting up this service. METHODS: Demographic, clinical parameters, surgery indications, procedures performed, and outcomes of consecutive patients that underwent HPB surgeries at LH from December 2018 to October 2022 were analyzed. RESULTS: Majority were females 72 (57.6%) with a median age of 50 (6-88) years. Forty-one (32.8%) underwent surgery on the pancreas (PS), 34 (27.2%) on the liver (LS), and 50 (40.0%) on the bile ducts (CBS). The most common symptom was abdominal pain. Benign disease was present in 37 patients (29.6%) while 88 (70.4%) had malignancy. A total of 34 patients (27.2%) had unresectable pancreatic head cancer and distal cholangiocarcinoma missed at preoperative imaging and discovered intraoperatively thus underwent palliative hepaticojejunostomy. Only 34 (27.2%) patients received postoperative ICU care. In-hospital mortality for this heterogenous group of patients was 6 (4.8%) for PS, 3 (2.4%) for LS, and 8 (6.4%) for CBS. CONCLUSION: Despite many challenges like limited access to ERCP accessories, lack of endoscopic ultrasound scans and PET-CT scans in the whole country, late presentation, and low quality imaging especially in preoperative determination of resectability of hepato-pancreato-biliary cancers, we managed to establish a functional HPB service. Patient results achieved were good in spite of these limitations.

Feasibility of collecting and processing of COVID-19 convalescent plasma for treatment of COVID-19 in Uganda

IntroductionEvidence that supports the use of COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) for treatment of COVID-19 is increasingly emerging. However, very few African countries have undertaken the collection and processing of CCP. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of collecting and processing of CCP, in preparation for a randomized clinical trial of CCP for treatment of COVID-19 in Uganda. MethodsIn a cross-sectional study, persons with documented evidence of recovery from COVID-19 in Uganda were contacted and screened for blood donation via telephone calls. Those found eligible were asked to come to the blood donation centre for further screening and consent. Whole blood collection was undertaken from which plasma was processed. Plasma was tested for transfusion transmissible infections (TTIs) and anti-SARS CoV-2 antibody titers. SARS-CoV-2 testing was also done on nasopharyngeal swabs from the donors. Results192 participants were contacted of whom 179 (93.2%) were eligible to donate. Of the 179 eligible, 23 (12.8%) were not willing to donate and reasons given included: having no time 7(30.4%), fear of being retained at the COVID-19 treatment center 10 (43.5%), fear of stigma in the community 1 (4.3%), phobia for donating blood 1 (4.3%), religious issues 1 (4.4%), lack of interest 2 (8.7%) and transport challenges 1 (4.3%). The median age was 30 years and females accounted for 3.7% of the donors. A total of 30 (18.5%) donors tested positive for different TTIs. Antibody titer testing demonstrated titers of more than 1:320 for all the 72 samples tested. Age greater than 46 years and female gender were associated with higher titers though not statistically significant. ConclusionCCP collection and processing is possible in Uganda. However, concerns about stigma and lack of time, interest or transport need to be addressed in order to maximize donations.