Assessing the preparedness of primary healthcare facilities during a cholera outbreak in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2018.

OBJECTIVE: During the 2017-2018 cholera outbreak in Kinshasa, many patients initially reported to primary healthcare centers (HCs) before being transferred to the nearest cholera treatment centers. This study aims to assess the level of preparedness of HCs in responding to cholera outbreaks. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive cross-sectional survey. METHODS: We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional survey in 180 of 374 primary HCs in Kinshasa. We collected data on 14 cholera preparedness criteria and described their prevalence among HCs. We used logistic regression to assess the association between each preparedness criteria and previous reporting of cholera cases by HCs. RESULTS: The median number of preparedness criteria met by HCs was 5 [range: 0-11]. Five percent (n = 9) of HCs [95% confidence interval (CI): 2.3%-9.3%] met at least 10 criteria. HCs that previously reported ≥3 cholera cases were less likely to meet the criteria for 'presence of an isolation unit' (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 0.12; 95% CI [0.03-0.61]) and 'availability of sufficient quantity of chlorine' (aOR: 0.13; 95% CI [0.02-0.64]). CONCLUSIONS: Despite past experience of cholera cases, health facilities in Kinshasa exhibit a low level of cholera preparedness. There is a need to prioritize the reinforcement of the preparedness of primary HCs to prevent future cholera outbreaks.

[Urological complications of gynecologic surgery]. / Les complications urologiques de la chirurgie gynécologique.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the epidemiological, anatomoclinical, surgical and evolutionary aspects of the urological complications of gynecological surgery. MATERIAL AND METHODS: It was about a retrospective survey, concerning 81 patients hospitalized in the department of urology of the university hospital, Brazzaville from 2000 to 2008 for urological complications of the gynecological surgery. The epidemiological, diagnostic, surgical and evolutionary parameters have been analyzed. RESULTS: The urological complication of the gynecological surgery has been recovered in 3% of patients hospitalized in urology. The middle age was 37±14.52 years (17 and 74 years). The median was about 36 years. The middle delay of diagnosis was 15 days (0 and 350 days). The revealing clinical signs were: the oligoanuria (n=12), the urinary incontinence (n=57), the lumbar pain (n=9) and the cyclic hematuria (n=2). The surgical interventions in reason were: the Caesarean (n=50), the hysterectomy for fibroma (n=26), the myomectomy (n=3) and the hysterectomy for cancer (n=2). Anatomical lesion were 55 (67.9%) vesicovaginal fistulas, 12 (14.8%) ureteral ligatures, eight (10%) uretero-vaginal fistulas, three (3.7%) vesico-uterine fistulas, two (2.4%) wounds ureteral and one (1.2%) vaginal vesico-fistulas and uretero-vaginal fistulas. The treatment consisted in one termino-terminal ureterorraphia, 20 uretero-vesical reimplantation, 57 cures of vesico-vaginal fistulas and one nephrectomy. The recovery was obtained at 96% of the ureteral lesions and 90% of the vesico-vaginal fistulas. CONCLUSION: The lesions of the ureteral and the bladder were often met during the gynecological surgery. The treatment requires knowledge of the anatomy of pelvis.