Modelling Determinants of Deaths Attributable to External Causes Among Adults in India.

The study aimed at finding the risk factors associated with adult mortality (15-59 years) due to external causes (accidents, suicide, poisoning, homicide, and violence). Using National Family Health Survey data-4 consisting of 1,756,867 sample, we applied a Robust Poisson Regression Model to determine the potential risk factors. Findings suggest that the highest proportion of deaths due to external causes was in the age group 20-24 years. The prevalence of these deaths was higher among older adults (age 50 years and above). The risk was more among males (Incident Rate Ratio (IRR) for females is: 0.29, p < 0.001), rural residents (IRR: 1.16, p < 0.001), exposed to mass-media (IRR: 1.08, p < 0.05), residing in female-headed households, in households having a member with higher education. This risk decreased for large families (IRR: 0.89, p < .001). A need to strengthen awareness and mentorship programs for young-adults and middle-aged people to control such avoidable deaths is recommended.

Quantifying the absolute number of cancer deaths that would be avoided if cancers were diagnosed prior to progressing to distant metastasis, New South Wales, Australia 1985-2014.

Our study measures the impact of diagnosing cancers early before they metastasise on reducing the burden of cancer death. A cohort of 716 501 people aged 15 to 89 years diagnosed with a solid cancer in New South Wales, Australia, during 1985 to 2014 were followed-up to December 2015. Crude probabilities of cancer death by stage at diagnosis were calculated for all solid cancers combined and five individual cancers using flexible parametric relative survival models. These probabilities were used to estimate the number of avoided cancer deaths within 10 years of diagnosis in three 10-year diagnostic periods if all cases with known distant stage were instead diagnosed at an earlier stage. Cancers are known to be diagnosed at distant stage composed ~16% of all solid cancers diagnosed during 2005 to 2014. Assuming all these cases were instead diagnosed at regional stage, an annual average of 2064 cancer deaths would have been potentially avoided within 10 years of diagnosis. This equated to ~21% of modelled observed deaths. Alternatively, if half of all known distant cases diagnosed during 2005 to 2014 were diagnosed as regional and half as localised, the average number of deaths avoided per year would increase to 2677 (~28%). Estimates varied by diagnostic period, sex and cancer type, reflecting both the different stage distributions for the cancer types, and the respective survival differences between cancer stages. While prevention is the most effective pillar of cancer control, these findings quantify the potential benefits of diagnosing all cancer types when they are less advanced to reduce the burden of cancer mortality.

The contributions of public health policies and healthcare quality to gender gap and country differences in life expectancy in the UK.

BACKGROUND: In many high-income countries, life expectancy (LE) has increased, with women outliving men. This gender gap in LE (GGLE) has been explained with biological factors, healthy behaviours, health status, and sociodemographic characteristics, but little attention has been paid to the role of public health policies that include/affect these factors. This study aimed to assess the contributions of avoidable causes of death, as a measure of public health policies and healthcare quality impacts, to the GGLE and its temporal changes in the UK. We also estimated the contributions of avoidable causes of death into the gap in LE between countries in the UK. METHODS: We obtained annual data on underlying causes of death by age and sex from the World Health Organization mortality database for the periods 2001-2003 and 2014-2016. We calculated LE at birth using abridged life tables. We applied Arriaga's decomposition method to compute the age- and cause-specific contributions into the GGLE in each period and its changes between two periods as well as the cross-country gap in LE in the 2014-2016 period. RESULTS: Avoidable causes had greater contributions than non-avoidable causes to the GGLE in both periods (62% in 2001-2003 and 54% in 2014-2016) in the UK. Among avoidable causes, ischaemic heart disease (IHD) followed by injuries had the greatest contributions to the GGLE in both periods. On average, the GGLE across the UK narrowed by about 1.0 year between 2001-2003 and 2014-2016 and three avoidable causes of IHD, lung cancer, and injuries accounted for about 0.8 years of this reduction. England & Wales had the greatest LE for both sexes in 2014-2016. Among avoidable causes, injuries in men and lung cancer in women had the largest contributions to the LE advantage in England & Wales compared to Northern Ireland, while drug-related deaths compared to Scotland in both sexes. CONCLUSION: With avoidable causes, particularly preventable deaths, substantially contributing to the gender and cross-country gaps in LE, our results suggest the need for behavioural changes by implementing targeted public health programmes, particularly targeting younger men from Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Failure to rescue: variation in mortality after cardiac surgery.

OBJECTIVES: Measures to prevent surgical complications are critical components of optimal patient care, and adequate management when complications occur is equally crucial in efforts to reduce mortality. This study aims to elucidate clinical realities underlying in-hospital variations in failure to rescue (FTR) after cardiac surgery. METHODS: Using a statewide database for a quality improvement program, we identified 62 450 patients who had undergone adult cardiac surgery between 2011 and 2018 in 1 of the 33 Michigan hospitals performing adult cardiac surgery. The hospitals were first divided into tertiles according to their observed to expected (O/E) ratios of 30-day mortality: low-mortality tertile (O/E 0.46-0.78), intermediate-mortality tertile (O/E 0.79-0.90) and high-mortality tertile (O/E 0.98-2.00). We then examined the incidence of 15 significant complications and the rates of death following complications among the 3 groups. RESULTS: A total of 1418 operative deaths occurred in the entire cohort, a crude mortality rate of 2.3% and varied from 1.3% to 5.9% at the hospital level. The death rates also diverged significantly according to mortality score tertiles, from 1.6% in the low-mortality group to 3.2% in the high-mortality group (P < 0.001). Hospitals ranked in a high- or intermediate-mortality tertile had similar rates of overall complications (21.3% and 20.7%, P = 0.17), while low-mortality hospitals had significantly fewer complications (16.3%) than the other 2 tertiles (P < 0.001). FTR increased in a stepwise manner from low- to high-mortality hospitals (8.3% vs 10.0% vs 12.7%, P < 0.001, respectively). Differences in FTR were related to survival after cardiac arrest, multi-system organ failure, prolonged ventilation, reoperation for bleeding and severe acute kidney disease that requires dialysis. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that timely recognition and appropriate treatment of complications are as important as preventing complications to further reduce operative mortality in cardiac surgery. FTR tools may provide vital information for quality improvement initiatives.

Economic impact of avoidable cancer deaths caused by diagnostic delay during the COVID-19 pandemic: A national population-based modelling study in England, UK.

INTRODUCTION: Delays in cancer diagnosis arose from the commencement of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) introduced in the UK in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our earlier work predicted this will lead to approximately 3620 avoidable deaths for four major tumour types (breast, bowel, lung, and oesophageal cancer) in the next 5 years. Here, using national population-based modelling, we estimate the health and economic losses resulting from these avoidable cancer deaths. We also compare these with the impact of an equivalent number of COVID-19 deaths to understand the welfare consequences of the different health conditions. METHODS: We estimate health losses using quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and lost economic productivity using the human capital (HC) approach. The analysis uses linked English National Health Service (NHS) cancer registration and hospital administrative datasets for patients aged 15-84 years, diagnosed with breast, colorectal, and oesophageal cancer between 1st Jan to 31st Dec 2010, with follow-up data until 31st Dec 2014, and diagnosed with lung cancer between 1st Jan to 31st Dec 31 2012, with follow-up data until 31st Dec 2015. Productivity losses are based on the estimation of excess additional deaths due to cancer at 1, 3 and 5 years for the four cancer types, which were derived from a previous analysis using this dataset. A total of 500 random samples drawn from the total number of COVID-19 deaths reported by the Office for National Statistics, stratified by gender, were used to estimate productivity losses for an equivalent number of deaths (n = 3620) due to SARS-CoV-2 infection. RESULTS: We collected data for 32,583 patients with breast cancer, 24,975 with colorectal cancer, 6744 with oesophageal cancer, and 29,305 with lung cancer. We estimate that across the four site-specific cancers combined in England alone, additional excess cancer deaths would amount to a loss of 32,700 QALYs (95% CI 31,300-34,100) and productivity losses of £103.8million GBP (73.2-132.2) in the next five years. For breast cancer, we estimate a loss of 4100 QALYS (3900-4400) and productivity losses of £23.2 m (18.2-28.6); for colorectal cancer, 15,000 QALYS (14,100-16,000) lost and productivity losses of £35.7 m (22.4-48.7); for lung cancer 10,900 QALYS (9,900-11,700) lost and productivity losses of £38.3 m (14.0-59.9) for lung cancer; and for oesophageal cancer, 2700 QALYS (2300-3,100) lost and productivity losses of £6.6 m (-6 to -17.6). In comparison, the equivalent number of COVID-19 deaths caused approximately 21,450 QALYs lost, as well as productivity losses amounting to £76.4 m (73.5-79.2). CONCLUSION: Premature cancer deaths resulting from diagnostic delays during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK will result in significant economic losses. On a per-capita basis, this impact is, in fact, greater than that of deaths directly attributable to COVID-19. These results emphasise the importance of robust evaluation of the trade-offs of the wider health, welfare and economic effects of NPI to support both resource allocation and the prioritisation of time-critical health services directly impacted in a pandemic, such as cancer care.

Preventable deaths following road traffic collisions in Botswana: A retrospective review.

Road traffic collisions (RTC) are a major cause of mortality and morbidity in Botswana. To our knowledge no research has been conducted in Botswana to investigate preventable deaths that occur as a result of RTCs. The aim of this study is to establish the rate of preventable deaths from RTCs in the greater Gaborone area in Botswana. This was a 5-year retrospective study conducted at the forensic pathology department for the greater Gaborone area, in Botswana. Nine hundred and nine (909) forensic pathology reports were retrieved. Sixty-eight percent (68.2%) of RTC deaths were considered preventable. Head injury in isolation and in combination with other injuries accounted for 87.6% (796/909) of deaths. Haemorrhagic shock was present in 70.2% (638) of all documented injuries. Another documented injury contributing to fatal RTCs was high spinal cord injury. This injury was documented in 13.1% (119/909) of all deaths. We recommend the implementation of a comprehensive trauma system in Botswana to reduce the number of deaths from RTCs.

Is current body temperature measurement practice fit-for-purpose?

There has been a marked rise in the number of avoidable deaths in health services around the world. At the same time there has been a growing increase in antibiotic resistant so-called "superbugs." We examine here the potential role of body temperature measurement in these adverse trends. Electronic based thermometers have replaced traditional mercury (and other liquid-in-glass type) thermometers for reasons of safety rather than superiority. Electronic thermometers are in general less robust from a measurement perspective than their predecessors. We illustrate the implications of unreliable temperature measurement on the diagnosis and management of disease, including COVID-19, through statistical calculations. Since a return to mercury thermometers is both undesirable and impractical, we call for better governance in the current practice of clinical thermometry to ensure the traceability and long-term accuracy of electronic thermometers and discuss how this could be achieved.

Estimation of the Potentially Avoidable Excess Deaths Associated with Socioeconomic Inequalities in Cancer Survival in Germany.

Many countries have reported survival inequalities due to regional socioeconomic deprivation. To quantify the potential gain from eliminating cancer survival disadvantages associated with area-based deprivation in Germany, we calculated the number of avoidable excess deaths. We used population-based cancer registry data from 11 of 16 German federal states. Patients aged ≥15 years diagnosed with an invasive malignant tumor between 2008 and 2017 were included. Area-based socioeconomic deprivation was assessed using the quintiles of the German Index of Multiple Deprivation (GIMD) 2010 on a municipality level nationwide. Five-year age-standardized relative survival for 25 most common cancer sites and for total cancer were calculated using period analysis. Incidence and number of avoidable excess deaths in Germany in 2013-2016 were estimated. Summed over the 25 cancer sites, 4100 annual excess deaths (3.0% of all excess deaths) could have been avoided each year in Germany during the period 2013-2016 if relative survival were in all regions comparable with the least deprived regions. Colorectal, oral and pharynx, prostate, and bladder cancer contributed the largest numbers of avoidable excess deaths. Our results provide a good basis to estimate the potential of intervention programs for reducing socioeconomic inequalities in cancer burden in Germany.

The Association between Material Deprivation and Avoidable Mortality in Lisbon, Portugal.

There is considerable evidence pointing to the existence of a socioeconomic gradient in mortality, which tends to be steeper in urban areas. Similar to other European cities, Lisbon is far from homogeneous since considerable geographical inequalities exist between the more advantaged and the more deprived neighborhoods. The main goals of this study are to describe the geographical pattern of premature deaths (before 65 years old), avoidable deaths (preventable and amenable to healthcare) and cause-specific mortality (HIV/AIDS and suicide) in Lisbon, at the lower administrative level (civil parish, in Portuguese: Freguesia), and analyze the statistical association between mortality risk and deprivation, before (1999-2003) and during the economic crisis (2008-2012). Smoothed Standardized Mortality Ratios (sSMR) and Relative Risk (RR) with 95% credible intervals were calculated to identify the association between mortality and deprivation. The analysis of the geographical distribution of cause-specific mortality reveals that civil parishes with high sSMR in the first period continued to present higher mortality rates in the second. Moreover, a significant statistical association was found between all the causes of death and deprivation, except suicide. These findings contribute to understanding how social conditions influence health outcomes and can offer insights about potential policy directions for local government.

Trends and predictors in all-cause and cause-specific mortality in diabetic and reference populations during 21 years of follow-up.

BACKGROUND: Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) have a markedly higher overall mortality from coronary heart disease (CHD), as well as many other causes of death like cancer. Since diabetes is a multisystem disease, this fact together with the increased lifespan among individuals with diabetes may also lead to the emergence of other diabetes-related complications and ultimately to diversification of the causes of death. METHODS: The study population of this observational historic cohort study consisted of subjects with DM, who had purchased for at least one insulin prescription and/or one oral antidiabetic between January 1, 1997 and December 31, 2010 (N=199 354), and a reference population matched by age, sex and hospital district (N=199 354). Follow-up was continued until December 31, 2017. All-cause and cause-specific mortality (cancer, CHD and stroke) was analysed with Poisson and Cox's regression. Associations between baseline medications and mortality were analysed using LASSO (Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator) models. RESULTS: The mortality rates were significantly elevated among the patients with DM. However, the relative risk of all-cause mortality between the DM and reference populations tended to converge during the follow-up. The lowering trend was most apparent in CHD mortality. The difference between DM and reference populations in stroke mortality vanished with a later entrance to the follow-up period. There were a few differences between DM and no-DM groups with respect to how baseline medications were associated with mortality. CONCLUSIONS: The gap between the mortality of patients with diabetes compared to subjects who are non-diabetic diminished markedly during the 21-year period. This was driven primarily by the reduced CHD mortality.

Marginal measures and causal effects using the relative survival framework.

BACKGROUND: In population-based cancer survival studies, the event of interest is usually death due to cancer. However, other competing events may be present. Relative survival is a commonly used measure in cancer studies that circumvents problems caused by the inaccuracy of the cause of death information. A summary of the prognosis of the cancer population and potential differences between subgroups can be obtained using marginal estimates of relative survival. METHODS: We utilize regression standardization to obtain marginal estimates of interest in a relative survival framework. Such measures include the standardized relative survival, standardized all-cause survival and standardized crude probabilities of death. Contrasts of these can be formed to explore differences between exposure groups and under certain assumptions are interpreted as causal effects. The difference in standardized all-cause survival can also provide an estimate for the impact of eliminating cancer-related differences between exposure groups. The potential avoidable deaths after such hypothetical scenarios can also be estimated. To illustrate the methods we use the example of survival differences across socio-economic groups for colon cancer. RESULTS: Using relative survival, a range of marginal measures and contrasts were estimated. For these measures we either focused on cancer-related differences only or chose to incorporate both cancer and other cause differences. The impact of eliminating differences between groups was also estimated. Another useful way for quantifying that impact is the avoidable deaths under hypothetical scenarios. CONCLUSIONS: Marginal estimates within the relative survival framework provide useful summary measures and can be applied to better understand differences across exposure groups.

Estimating effects of Uber ride-sharing service on road traffic-related deaths in South Africa: a quasi-experimental study.

BACKGROUND: Road traffic deaths are a substantial barrier to population health improvement in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). In South Africa, the road-traffic injury mortality (RTM) rate of 27 per 100 000 population is twice the global average, over 60% of which are alcohol-related. Recent US studies suggest the Uber ride-sharing service may reduce alcohol-related RTM, however RTM burden in the USA is relatively low and transport behaviours differ from LMICs. METHODS: Using certification data from all deaths occurring in South Africa in the years 2010-2014 (n=2 498 216), we investigated the relative change in weekly road traffic-related death counts between provinces which received Uber services (beginning in 2013) against those that did not using a difference-in-differences approach. RESULTS: Weekly road traffic-related deaths in provinces with Uber were lower following Uber introduction than in comparison provinces without Uber. The effect size was larger in the province which had Uber the longest (Gauteng) and among young adult males (aged 17-39 years). However, the absolute effects were very small (<2 deaths per year) and may coincide with seasonal variation. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, findings did not support either an increase or large decrease in province-level road traffic-related deaths associated with Uber introduction to South Africa. More localised investigations in South Africa and other LMICs are needed.

Potentially Avertable Premature Deaths Associated with Jail Incarceration in New York City.

This study assessed neighborhood-level association between jail incarceration and premature mortality and estimated the number of potentially avertable premature deaths associated with jail incarceration in NYC. The study outcome was premature mortality rate and the main predictor of interest was jail incarceration rate. Variables associated with premature mortality in bivariate analysis were considered for inclusion in the multivariable ordinary least squares model and in the multivariable linear mixed effects model accounting for spatial correlation. Numbers of potentially avertable premature deaths were calculated by substituting the citywide incarceration rate for the neighborhoods with incarceration rates higher than the citywide rate in the final regression model. There were large disparities in both jail incarceration and premature mortality rates. Incarceration was strongly associated with premature mortality. The number of potentially avertable premature deaths associated with jail incarceration from 2011 to 2015 was approximately 6000, representing 10% of all predicted premature deaths in NYC. This study indicates that incarceration is closely correlated with premature mortality rates, which may contribute to health inequities among low-income NYC neighborhoods with predominantly black and Latino residents.

Avoidable mortality among parents whose children were placed in care in Sweden: a population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Separation from one's child can have significant consequences for parental health and well-being. We aimed to investigate whether parents whose children were placed in care had higher rates of avoidable mortality. METHODS: Data were obtained from the Swedish national registers. Mortality rates among parents whose children were placed in care between 1990 and 2012 (17 503 mothers, 18 298 fathers) were compared with a 1:5 matched cohort of parents whose children were not placed. We computed rate differences and HRs of all-cause and avoidable mortality. RESULTS: Among mothers, deaths due to preventable causes were 3.09 times greater (95% CI 2.24 to 4.26) and deaths due to amenable causes were 3.04 times greater (95% CI 2.03 to 4.57) for those whose children were placed in care. Among fathers, death due to preventable causes were 1.64 times greater (95% CI 1.32 to 2.02) and deaths due to amenable causes were 1.84 times greater (95% CI 1.33 to 2.55) for those whose children were placed in care. Avoidable mortality rates were higher among mothers whose children were young when placed in care and among parents whose children were all placed in care. CONCLUSIONS: Parents who had a child placed in out-of-home care are at higher risk of avoidable mortality. Interventions targeting mothers who had a child aged less than 13 placed in care, and parents whose children were all placed in care could have the greatest impact in reducing avoidable mortality in this population.

Why is life expectancy in England and Wales 'stalling'?

Several independent analyses, by both epidemiologists and actuaries, have concluded that the previous rate of improvement of life expectancy in England and Wales has now slowed markedly, and at older ages may even be reversing. However, although these findings have led the pension industry to reduce estimates of future liabilities, they have failed to elicit any significant concern in the Department of Health and Social Care. In this essay, we review the evidence on changing life expectancy, noting that the problems are greatest among older women. We then estimate the gap between what life expectancy is now and what it might have been had previous trends continued. At age 85, the gap is 0.34 years for women and 0.23 for men. We argue that recent changes cannot be dismissed as a temporary aberration. While the causes of this phenomenon are contested, there is growing evidence to point to the austerity policies implemented in recent years as at least a partial explanation. We conclude by calling for a fully independent enquiry to ascertain what is happening to life expectancy in England and Wales and what should be done about it.

Socioeconomic gradients in all-cause, premature and avoidable mortality among immigrants and long-term residents using linked death records in Ontario, Canada.

BACKGROUND: Immigrants have been shown to possess a health advantage, yet are also more likely to reside in arduous economic conditions. Little is known about if and how the socioeconomic gradient for all-cause, premature and avoidable mortality differs according to immigration status. METHODS: Using several linked population-based vital and demographic databases from Ontario, we examined a cohort of all deaths in the province between 2002 and 2012. We constructed count models, adjusted for relevant covariates, to attain age-adjusted mortality rates and rate ratios for all-cause, premature and avoidable mortality across income quintile in immigrants and long-term residents, stratified by sex. RESULTS: A downward gradient in age-adjusted all-cause mortality was observed with increasing income quintile, in immigrants (males: Q5: 13.32, Q1: 20.18; females: Q5: 9.88, Q1: 12.51) and long-term residents (males: Q5: 33.25, Q1: 57.67; females: Q5: 22.31, Q1: 36.76). Comparing the lowest and highest income quintiles, male and female immigrants had a 56% and 28% lower all-cause mortality rate, respectively. Similar trends were observed for premature and avoidable mortality. Although immigrants had consistently lower mortality rates compared with long-term residents, trends only differed statistically across immigration status for females (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study illustrated the presence of income disparities as it pertains to all-cause, premature, and avoidable mortality, irrespective of immigration status. Additionally, the immigrant health advantage was observed and income disparities were less pronounced in immigrants compared with long-term residents. These findings support the need to examine the factors that drive inequalities in mortality within and across immigration status.

Trends in educational inequalities in premature mortality in Belgium between the 1990s and the 2000s: the contribution of specific causes of deaths.

BACKGROUND: Reducing socioeconomic inequalities in mortality, a key public health objective may be supported by a careful monitoring and assessment of the contributions of specific causes of death to the global inequality. METHODS: The 1991 and 2001 Belgian censuses were linked with cause-of-death data, each yielding a study population of over 5 million individuals aged 25-64, followed up for 5 years. Age-standardised mortality rates (ASMR) were computed by educational level (EL) and cause. Inequalities were measured through rate differences (RDs), rate ratios (RRs) and population attributable fractions (PAFs). We analysed changes in educational inequalities between the 1990s and the 2000s, and decomposed the PAF into the main causes of death. RESULTS: All-cause and avoidable ASMR decreased in all ELs and both sexes. Lung cancer, ischaemic heart disease (IHD), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and suicide in men, and IHD, stroke, lung cancer and COPD in women had the highest impact on population mortality. RDs decreased in men but increased in women. RRs and PAFs increased in both sexes, albeit more in women. In men, the impact of lung cancer and COPD inequalities on population mortality decreased while that of suicide and IHD increased. In women, the impact of all causes except IHD increased. CONCLUSION: Absolute inequalities decreased in men while increasing in women; relative inequalities increased in both sexes. The PAFs decomposition revealed that targeting mortality inequalities from lung cancer, IHD, COPD in both sexes, suicide in men and stroke in women would have the largest impact at population level.

Postpartum hemorrhage: incidence, risk factors, and outcomes in a low-resource setting.

BACKGROUND: Primary postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is defined as blood loss from the genital tract of 500 mL or more following a normal vaginal delivery (NVD) or 1,000 mL or more following a cesarean section within 24 hours of birth. PPH contributes significantly to maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide. Women can rapidly hemorrhage and die soon after giving birth. It can be a devastating outcome to many young families. Women giving birth in low-resource settings are at a higher risk of death than their counterparts in resource-rich environments. PPH is a leading cause of maternal deaths globally, contributing to a quarter of the deaths annually. AIMS: This study aims 1) to document the incidence, risk factors, and causes of PPH in a low-resource setting and 2) to document the maternal outcomes of PPH in low-resource setting. METHODS: This was a retrospective descriptive cohort study carried out at Mpilo Central Hospital, a tertiary referral government hospital in a low-resource setting in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Data were obtained from the labor ward birth registers for patients who had a diagnosis of PPH during the period from January 1, 2016 to June 30, 2016. The case notes were retrieved and the demographic, clinical, and outcome data were gathered. Blood loss was estimated postdelivery by the attending clinician - either a midwife or a doctor. At this maternity unit, blood loss is not measured but estimated owing to prevailing resource constraints. The SPSS Version 21 statistical tool was used to calculate the mean and standard deviation (SD) values. Simple statistical tests were used on absolute numbers to calculate percentages. RESULTS: There were 4,567 deliveries at the institution during the period from January 1, 2016 to June 30, 2016. There were 74 cases of PPH during the study period. The incidence of primary PPH was 1.6%. The mean age was 27.7 years (SD ±6.9), mean gestational age was 38.6 weeks gestation (SD ±2.2), and mean birth weight was 3.16 kg (SD ±0.65) for the studied group of patients. Three-quarters (75.7%) of the cases had NVD. The majority of the cases (77.0%) had an identifiable risk factor for developing primary PPH. The most identifiable risk factor for primary PPH was pregnancy-induced hypertension followed by prolonged labor. Uterine atony was the most common cause of postpartum hemorrhage (82.4%). The women who delivered by NVD, who were diagnosed with a PPH, and who lost an estimated 500-1,000 mL of blood were 73.2%; 25% lost 1,000-1,500 mL of blood, and 1.8% lost more than 1,500 mL of blood. The women who delivered by lower-segment cesarean section, who were diagnosed with a PPH, and who lost an estimated 1,000-1,500 mL of blood were 77.8%, and 22.2% bled an estimated 1,500 mL of blood or more. The majority of the cases of primary PPH (94.6%) survived the condition and 5.4% died. CONCLUSION: The incidence of PPH at Mpilo Central Hospital was 1.6% during the study period, lower than that reported elsewhere in similar setting in the literature. This study, therefore, is important as it documents for the first time for this maternity unit and for a Zimbabwean setting, the incidence of one of the most important causes of global maternal deaths. Future studies should involve the effect on maternal outcomes of PPH following widespread introduction of misoprostol therapy into practice. This data can help in mobilizing global efforts to improve women's health.

Dyspnoea as a predictor of cause-specific heart/lung disease mortality in Bangladesh: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The spectrum of mortality outcomes by cause in populations with/without dyspnoea has not been determined. The study aimed to evaluate whether dyspnoea, a symptom, predicts cause-specific mortality differences between groups. The hypothesis was that diseases that result in chronic dyspnoea, those originating from the heart and lungs, would preferentially result in heart and lung disease mortality in those with baseline dyspnoea (relative to no dyspnoea) when followed over time. METHODS: A population-based sample of 11 533 Bangladeshis was recruited and followed for 11-12 years and cause-specific mortality evaluated in those with and without baseline dyspnoea. Dyspnoea was ascertained by trained physicians. The cause of death was determined by verbal autopsy. Kaplan-Meier survival curves, the Fine-Gray competing risk hazards model and logistic regression models were used to determine group differences in cause-specific mortality. RESULTS: Compared to those not reporting dyspnoea at baseline, the adjusted HRs were 6.4 (3.8 to 10.7), 9.3 (3.9 to 22.3), 1.8 (1.2 to 2.8), 2.2 (1.0 to 5.1) and 2.8 (1.3 to 6.2) for greater risk of dying from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, heart disease, tuberculosis and lung cancer, respectively. In contrast, there was a similar risk of dying from stroke, cancer (excluding lung), liver disease, accidents and other (miscellaneous causes) between the dyspnoeic and non-dyspnoeic groups. In addition, the HR was 2.1 (1.7 to 2.5) for greater all-cause mortality in those with baseline dyspnoea versus no dyspnoea. CONCLUSIONS: Dyspnoea, ascertained by a single question with binary response, predicts heart and lung disease mortality. Individuals reporting dyspnoea were twofold to ninefold more likely to die of diseases that involve the heart and/or lungs relative to the non-dyspnoeic individuals. Therefore, in those with chronic dyspnoea, workup to look for the five common dyspnoeic diseases resulting in increased mortality (COPD, asthma, heart disease, tuberculosis and lung cancer), all treatable, should reduce mortality and improve the public health.

Quality of care in women's, children's, and adolescent health. Methods for assessing evaluation and implementation in West Africa. Experience in the Côte d'Ivoire.

A tool developed by WHO was used to assess the quality of care for mothers, newborns, and children in some healthcare facilities in French-speaking Africa; this study led to the development of recommendations for the implementation of actions intended to resolve the problems observed and to optimize patient management. We report here the experience of the maternity units of the university hospital center of Treichville, in Abidjan, discuss the presentation of the results of the assessment, and make some recommendations as part of an action program. The experience of the monthly review of referred cases is also reported.