Sepsis in previously healthy neonates discharged home after delivery in Soweto, South Africa.

BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of data on the aetiology of neonatal sepsis in sub-Saharan Africa. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the incidence, aetiology and outcomes of physician-diagnosed sepsis in hospitalised neonates who had previously been discharged home after delivery in Soweto, South Africa. METHODS: A retrospective review using data abstracted from clinical and laboratory databases identified physician-diagnosed sepsis cases in neonates admitted to the general paediatric wards at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital from January 2015 to September 2016. Neonates with physician-diagnosed sepsis were categorised into two groups based on putative pathogens recovered from blood and/or cerebrospinal fluid specimens: (i) culture-confirmed sepsis; and (ii) culture-negative sepsis. RESULTS: Of 1 826 neonatal admissions, 1 025 (56.2%) had physician-diagnosed sepsis: 166 (16.2%) with culture-confirmed sepsis and 859 (83.8%) with culture-negative neonatal sepsis. The commonest pathogens causing culture-confirmed neonatal sepsis were Streptococcus viridans (n=53; 26.5%), S. agalactiae (n=38; 19.0%), and Staphylococcus aureus (n=25; 12.5%). The case fatality rates for culture-confirmed sepsis and culture-negative sepsis were 10.8% (18/166) and 2.6% (22/859), respectively. The odds of death occurring during hospitalisation was 10-fold (95% confidence interval 3.7 - 26.9) higher in neonates with culture-confirmed sepsis compared with culture-negative sepsis. CONCLUSIONS: In our setting, physician-diagnosed sepsis represents a huge disease burden in previously healthy neonates hospitalised from home. Most sepsis cases were attributed to S. viridans, S. agalactiae and S. aureus.

Subclinical tuberculosis and adverse infant outcomes in pregnant women with HIV.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) in pregnant women with HIV is associated with adverse maternal and infant outcomes. Previous studies have described a substantial prevalence of subclinical TB in this group, but little is known about the impact of subclinical TB on maternal and pediatric outcomes.METHODS: The Tshepiso Study recruited 235 HIV-infected pregnant women with TB (and matched HIV-positive, TB-negative pregnant controls), in Soweto, South Africa, from 2011 to 2014. During enrolment screening, some women initially recruited as controls were subsequently diagnosed with prevalent TB. We therefore assessed the prevalence of subclinical TB, associated participant characteristics and outcomes.RESULTS: Of 162 women initially recruited as TB-negative controls, seven (4.3%) were found to have TB on sputum culture. All seven had negative WHO symptom screens, and six (86%) were smear-negative. Of their seven infants, one was diagnosed with TB, and three (43%) experienced complications compared to zero infants with TB and 11% experiencing complications in the control group of TB-negative mothers (P = 0.045).CONCLUSION: We discovered an appreciable prevalence of subclinical TB in HIV-infected pregnant women in Soweto, which had not been detected by screening algorithms based solely on symptoms. Infants of HIV-infected mothers with subclinical TB appear to have a higher risk of adverse outcomes than those of TB-negative mothers.

Empyema in children hospitalised at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, Johannesburg, South Africa: A retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of information on empyema in children from low- and middle-income countries since the introduction of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. OBJECTIVES: To describe the aetiology and management of empyema in a setting of high HIV and tuberculosis (TB) prevalence. METHODS: A retrospective descriptive study was undertaken between January 2012 and December 2016 in children aged <14 years at a large secondary-tertiary referral hospital in Soweto, South Africa. Cases of empyema were identified through administrative databases. Clinical, laboratory and radiological data were extracted from patient records. RESULTS: We identified 65 cases of protocol-defined empyema, including 22 (33.8%) referred from surrounding hospitals. The median age at presentation was 53.2 months (interquartile range (IQR) 19.5 - 103.6). Thirteen patients (20.0%) were HIV-infected and 6 (9.2%) were HIV-exposed but uninfected. A bacterial pathogen was identified in 36 cases (55.3%). The commonest causative organisms were Staphylococcus aureus (14/65, 21.5%) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (5/65, 7.7%). Treatment for TB, initiated in 28 children (43.1%), was more frequent in HIV-infected children (10/13, 76.9%) (p=0.011); however, microbiological evidence of TB was present in only 5 cases (7.7%). Forty-three children (66.2%) had an intercostal drain (ICD) inserted and 16 (24.6%) a pigtail percutaneous catheter, while a fibrinolytic was only used in 6 (10.2%). Eight children (12.3%) had a thoracotomy and 7 (10.7%) had video-assisted thorascopic drainage, all of whom had a prior ICD inserted, a median of 20 days (IQR 10 - 33) before surgery. Overall, 7 children (10.8%) were mechanically ventilated and 1 (1.5%) died. CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed a dominance of S. aureus as a cause of empyema. A high proportion of HIV-infected children with empyema were initiated on TB treatment, highlighting challenges in managing TB-HIV co-infection. Although fibrinolytics or early surgery are recommended, neither practice was common in this setting.

An evaluation of the quality of discharge summaries from the general paediatric wards at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, Johannesburg, South Africa.

BACKGROUND: Hospital discharge summaries are deemed to be an essential part of the medical record in South Africa, but formal assessment of their quality is rarely undertaken. At Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital (CHBAH) in Johannesburg, medical admission notes (bedletters) are difficult to retrieve from the hospital archives and the discharge summary is often the only readily available medical record that documents details of the hospital admission. OBJECTIVES: To determine the proportion of discharge summaries that were appropriately completed for children admitted to the general paediatric wards at CHBAH. METHODS: A retrospective review of discharge summaries completed for children admitted from 1 May to 31 July 2016 was undertaken. The completeness of the following demographic and clinical variables was assessed: patient identifiers, hospital outcome, HIV infection status and anthropometric status. The documentation of correct International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th revision (ICD-10) codes was assessed in children diagnosed with any form of lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI), which is the commonest diagnosis recorded in hospitalised children at CHBAH. RESULTS: Discharge summaries were available for 1 148 (78.3%) of 1 466 children admitted during the study period. For completed discharge summaries, 80.1 - 93.3% of patient identifiers and 91.4% of patient outcomes were appropriately completed. HIV exposure was documented in 84.7% of summaries. Anthropometric parameters, including weight and length/height at admission and discharge weight, were appropriately completed in 91.4%, 70.9% and 50.0% of summaries, respectively. The ICD-10 code for children with LRTI was appropriately recorded by medical staff in 338 (67.2%) of 503 cases. ICD­10 codes and anthropometric parameters, which are important clinical parameters in the paediatric follow-up consultation, were both correctly recorded for only 21.6% of children who required follow-up clinical consultations at CHBAH. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with similar studies, both the rate of completion and the quality of completed discharge summaries were modest in this tertiary academic teaching hospital. As discharge summaries are crucial medical documents, interventions to improve their completeness rate and quality need to be developed.

Outcomes of Kasai hepatoportoenterostomy in children with biliary atresia in Johannesburg, South Africa.

BACKGROUND: Without timely surgical intervention, most children with biliary atresia (BA) are not expected to live beyond 2 years of age. The initial intervention, the Kasai hepatoportoenterostomy (KPE), aims to achieve biliary drainage. Liver transplantation (LT) is performed if jaundice fails to clear or when biliary cirrhosis occurs. In under-resourced South African (SA) academic state hospitals, KPE procedures are the standard of care for the majority of children with BA, but LT is becoming more routinely available. OBJECTIVES: To describe the outcomes of children with BA undergoing KPE, and to identify presenting clinical, laboratory and histological features that were associated with a more favourable outcome. METHODS: All children with BA who underwent KPE between January 2009 and June 2012 at the Johannesburg academic-hospital complex were included. Clinical and laboratory parameters, including paediatric end-stage liver disease (PELD) score at the time of KPE, liver histology fibrosis score, clearance of jaundice at 6 months and 24-month survival were determined. RESULTS: Of 70 children with BA diagnosed during the study period, 43 (61.4%) underwent KPE, but only 12 (27.9%) achieved early resolution of jaundice. By 24 months, 14 (32.6%) of 43 children undergoing KPE were alive with their native liver, and 2 (4.7%) other children underwent LT. PELD score <15 and early resolution of jaundice, but not age at surgery or histological fibrosis score, predicted a favourable outcome. CONCLUSION: Children with BA undergoing KPE in SA state hospitals have a poor prognosis. The PELD score at the time of KPE best predicts 24-month survival.

The effect of topical calcipotriol or zinc on tuberculin skin tests in hospitalised South African children.

BACKGROUND: The tuberculin skin test (TST) is used to help diagnose tuberculosis (TB) in acutely ill hospitalised children. OBJECTIVE To investigate the potential augmentative effect of topical calcipotriol (a vitamin D analogue) or zinc on TST induration. METHODS: Three TSTs were performed among 64 hospitalised children; each site was covered with topical aqueous cream (control), calcipotriol or zinc and assessed 24 and 48 h later by investigators blinded to all topical applications. RESULTS: TSTs were reactive in 15 (23.4%) children, of whom 13 (20.3%) were TST-positive. Topical calcipotriol and zinc induced TST positivity in two children with reactive but negative control TSTs. These treatments, however, did not significantly increase TST positivity rates. In children with reactive TSTs, the median 48 h induration diameter was not significantly different between the control, calcipotriol- or zinc-treated groups, which were respectively 12.0 (25%-75% IQR 5.0 - 18.0), 14.0 (25%-75% IQR 10.0 - 15.0) and 12.0 (25%-75% IQR 8.0 - 15.0) mm. Topical treatments did not induce TST reactivity or TST positivity in children with culture-confirmed TB disease (n = 4), human immunodeficiency virus infection (n= 18) or kwashiorkor (n = 9). CONCLUSIONS: Topical calcipotriol or zinc does not induce TST reactivity or significantly increase TST positivity rates in acutely ill hospitalised children. However, further studies are required to assess the effects of topical treatments on TST positivity in severely malnourished children.

Paediatric liver transplantation for children treated at public health facilities in South Africa: time for change.

Paediatric liver transplantation (PLT) is the only therapeutic option for many children with end-stage chronic liver disease or irreversible fulminant hepatic failure, and is routinely considered as a therapy by paediatric gastroenterologists and surgeons working in developed countries. In South Africa (SA), a PLT programme has been available at Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital in Cape Town since November 1991, and another has rapidly developed at the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre in Johannesburg over the past decade. However, for most children with progressive chronic liver disease who are reliant on the services provided at state facilities in SA, PLT is not an option because of a lack of resources in a mismanaged public health system. This article briefly outlines the services offered at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital--which is typical of state facilities in SA--and proposes that resources be allocated to establish an innovative, nationally funded centre that would enable greater numbers of children access to a PLT programme.