Globally, increasing rates of facility-based childbirth enable early intervention for small vulnerable newborns. We describe health system-level inputs, current feeding, and discharge practices for ...moderately low birthweight (MLBW) infants (1500-<2500g) in resource-constrained settings. The Low Birthweight Infant Feeding Exploration study is a mixed methods observational study in 12 secondary- and tertiary-level facilities in India, Malawi, and Tanzania. We analyzed data from baseline facility assessments and a prospective cohort of 148 MLBW infants from birth to discharge. Anthropometric measuring equipment (e.g., head circumference tapes, length boards), key medications (e.g., surfactant, parenteral nutrition), milk expression tools, and human milk alternatives (e.g., donor milk, formula) were not universally available. MLBW infants were preterm appropriate-for-gestational age (38.5%), preterm large-for-gestational age (3.4%), preterm small-for-gestational age (SGA) (11.5%), and term SGA (46.6%). The median length of stay was 3.1 days (IQR: 1.5, 5.7); 32.4% of infants were NICU-admitted and 67.6% were separated from mothers at least once. Exclusive breastfeeding was high (93.2%). Generalized group lactation support was provided; 81.8% of mother-infant dyads received at least one session and 56.1% had 2+ sessions. At the time of discharge, 5.1% of infants weighed >10% less than their birthweight; 18.8% of infants were discharged with weights below facility-specific policy 1800g in India, 1500g in Malawi, and 2000g in Tanzania. Based on descriptive analysis, we found constraints in health system inputs which have the potential to hinder high quality care for MLBW infants. Targeted LBW-specific lactation support, discharge at appropriate weight, and access to feeding alternatives would position MLBW for successful feeding and growth post-discharge.
Cholecystectomy is a commonly performed abdominal procedure, the gold standard currently is the laparoscopic approach and, however, the facilities and expertise for laparoscopy are not available ...widely, especially in developing countries. A Mini-laparotomy cholecystectomy is an additional approach that is performed through an incision that is less than 5 cm thus minimizing the complications of the traditional open cholecystectomy and the postoperative hospital stay. The study aims to evaluate the outcome of mini-laparotomy cholecystectomy in terms of operative duration, complications, and hospital stay in a rural hospital. This is a retrospective study conducted in El-Dwaim Teaching Hospital, Sudan. All cases of mini-laparotomy cholecystectomy conducted from March 2009 to December 2020 were included and retrospectively studied. Descriptive statistics were applied using SPSS version 25. A total of 512 mini-laparotomy cases were involved in the study, of those 442 aged more than 40 years. The operation lasted less than 60 minutes for 486 of the participants, and the most frequent cholecystitis complication observed intraoperatively was mucocele, occurring in 70 (13.6%) participants. Intraoperative complications due to mini-laparotomy occurred in 4 (0.8%) cases, in the form of bleeding and none of the observed cases converted into open cholecystectomy. Postoperative complications occurred in the form of wound infection in 7 participants, biliary leak in 1 participant, and fistula formation in 1 participant. Post-operative hospital stay was 24 hours for 458 participants. Mini-laparotomy cholecystectomy is a safe minimally invasive approach with low rates of complications and short postoperative hospital stay, making it an optimum approach in facility-deprived countries.
BackgroundDiarrhoea-associated mortality and morbidity are highest in infants and young children in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Zinc supplementation during acute diarrhoea has ...been shown to reduce the duration of illness and the risk of persistent diarrhoea. However, vomiting with zinc supplementation is a common side effect that may interfere with compliance and programmatic scale-up, and may be related to the dose prescribed.Methods/designThe Zinc Therapeutic Dose Trial (ZTDT) is a two-centre (Tanzania and India), three-arm randomised, double-blind controlled non-inferiority trial. Children 6–59 months of age with acute diarrhoea are eligible to participate. Enrolled children (1500 per arm; 4500 total) will be randomly allocated to receive 5, 10 or 20 mg of zinc sulfate daily for 14 days and will be followed up for 60 days after enrolment. All children will receive WHO/Unicef Integrated Management of Childhood Illness standard of care (oral or intravenous rehydration and zinc as indicated and feeding advice). The primary efficacy outcomes of the trial are the percentage of subjects with diarrhoea duration >5 days, the mean total number of loose or watery stools after enrolment and the proportion of children vomiting within 30 min of zinc administration.DiscussionThe ZTDT trial will determine the optimal dose of therapeutic zinc supplements for treatment of acute diarrhoea in children aged 6–59 months in two LMICs. The results of the trial are likely to be generalisable to childhood acute diarrhoea in similar resource-limited settings and may influence global policy about zinc supplementation dosage during acute diarrhoea.Trial registration numberNCT03078842.Trial statusEnrolment began in January 2017 and follow-up is estimated to be completed by April 2019. As of 1 February 2019, 742 children are still contributing data to the ZTDT study.
To determine the rate of decline of CD4 T lymphocytes among HIV-1-infected individuals.
A prospective open cohort study of workers in three hotels in Dar es Salaam.
The workers were seen yearly ...during the study. CD4 T lymphocyte counts were determined using flow cytometry. The CD4 T-lymphocyte slopes were determined using a linear regression model.
During the 9-year study period 682 subjects were selected for lymphocyte subset determinations. Of these, 94 HIV-1-seroprevalent (72%), 77 HIV-1-seroincident (67%) and 325 seronegative (75%) individuals had three or more CD4 T-cell determinations, and were used for calculations of CD4 cell slopes with a mean follow-up period of 71.4, 52.9 and 86.0 months, respectively. The median yearly decline of the CD4 T-lymphocyte counts and percentages among seroprevalent individuals was -21.5 cells/microl and -1.3%; among the seroincident individuals the median decline was -22.0 cells/microl and -1.5%. In seroincident individuals the mean duration to a CD4 T-lymphocyte level corresponding to a definition of AIDS was 13.3 years or 11.8 years for CD4 cell counts or percentages, respectively. HIV-1-seropositive subjects who died had significantly steeper CD4 cell slopes than those who survived.
The rates of CD4 T-lymphocyte decline in HIV-1-infected individuals in our population are similar to those reported in Europe and north America.
This paper argues that the lack of serious attempts to incorporate Islamic studies in Kenya’s academic culture can best be understood by looking at the colonial and postcolonial policies toward ...university education there. The early missionary influence that shaped the nature of the indigenous educational system had a farreaching impact upon creating a culture of resistance among Muslims toward western education. In the postcolonial period, the new governments tried to create a level playing field for all of their citizens, regardless of religious orientation. But the colonial imapct had already left its mark on Muslims in terms of their visibility at the university level. The Kenyan government did not interfere in what academic programs should be prioritized at this level. But because Christians outnumbered Muslims in academia, their influence created a dearth of indigenous university-generated information and knowledge on Muslim institutions and society. This gap was left to foreign researchers to fill. As a result, Kenya has no indigenous Islamic intellectual culture. If this status quo does not change, Kenyan Muslims will remain vulnerable to foreign Islamist influences.
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