Search results

Assessing the impacts of short-course multidrug-resistant tuberculosis treatment in the Southeast Asia Region using a mathematical modeling approach

MORU

Posted 07/05/2021. Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) remains a significant burden in the Southeast Asia region. Using mathematical modelling approach, Wirichada Pan-Ngum and colleagues assessed the population-level impacts of short-course MDR-TB treatment compared to the conventional therapy. Early initiation of treatment and good level of treatment eligibility are identified to be important determinants to the success of MDR-TB control programmes.

Perinatal depression in migrant and refugee women on the Thai–Myanmar border: does social support matter?

MORU SMRU

Posted 05/04/2021. On the Thailand-Myanmar border, 39% of migrant women and 47% of refugee women experience maternal depression. Gracia Fellmeth and colleagues show that among migrant women, higher levels of social support are associated with lower depression. The perinatal period offers a valuable opportunity to ask women about depression and support networks and offer help to those who need it.

A multicentre point prevalence survey of patterns and quality of antibiotic prescribing in Indonesian hospitals

EOCRU OUCRU

Posted 04/05/2021. This survey in Jakarta, Indonesia, led by Licia Limato & Raph Hamers, evaluated patterns and quality indicators of antibiotic prescribing in six public and private hospitals. The study reported a high rate of empirical use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, coupled with poor documentation and guideline adherence, suggesting important areas for antimicrobial stewardship interventions.

Prediction of disease severity in young children presenting with acute febrile illness in resource-limited settings: a protocol for a prospective observational study

MORU

Posted 30/04/2021. In many low- and middle-income countries febrile children are managed by health workers with limited training, in settings where referrals can confer substantial costs and risks. Spot Sepsis, a multi-centre study being implemented by MORU and MSF, aims to develop a practical prognostic tool to help community healthcare providers identify febrile children who may benefit from referral for facility-based medical care.

Predictors of disease severity in children presenting from the community with febrile illnesses: a systematic review of prognostic studies

MORU

Posted 16/04/2021. This systematic review by Arjun Chandna and colleagues identified clinical and laboratory prognostic factors, measured at the point of presentation, that can help identify children at risk of severe febrile illness. Most studies included only hospitalised children and further work is required to identify the best predictors to build data-driven triage tools for use by community healthcare providers.

Towards an appropriate ethics framework for Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems (HDSS): learning from issues faced in diverse HDSS in sub-Saharan Africa

KWTRP OCGHR

Posted 28/04/2021. While Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems (HDSS) involving verbal autopsy provide essential data on deaths, births and other health-related events in LMICs where alternative sources are limited, Vicki Marsh and colleagues argue that current regulatory frameworks do not sufficiently recognise their nature as a form of non-traditional epidemiological research. Ethical challenges include risks of uncompensated burdens that alternative regulatory approaches may more successfully identify.

Rolling out the radical cure for vivax malaria in Asia: a qualitative study among policy makers and stakeholders

MORU

Posted 27/04/2021. The complete treatment of vivax malaria requires a radical cure with a course of 8-aminoquinolines. Bipin Adhikari and colleagues interviewed policymakers in Asia why the radical cure is currently so poorly implemented and what can be done to improve the uptake of the radical cure.

Examining unit costs for COVID-19 case management in Kenya

KWTRP

Posted 23/04/2021. COVID-19 case management is one of the key interventions in country responses to the pandemic. Angela Kairu, Edwine Barasa and colleagues estimate the unit costs for COVID-19 case management in Kenya useful in informing policy decisions around resource allocation, planning and budgeting, and development of appropriate healthcare purchasing arrangements. The findings illustrate that COVID-19 case management costs are substantial, ranging between two and four times the average claims value reported by Kenya’s public health insurer.

Burden of soil-transmitted helminth infection in pregnant refugees and migrants on the Thailand-Myanmar border

MORU SMRU

Posted 21/04/2021. Tobias Brummaier and colleagues report a high burden of soil-transmitted helminth infections and an association with maternal anaemia in pregnant migrant and refugee women on the Thai-Myanmar border. Whether the protective effect of Ascaris lumbricoides infection against miscarriage observed in this retrospective dataset results from helminth immune modulation remains to be determined.

Deploying triple artemisinin-based combination therapy (TACT) for malaria treatment in Africa: ethical and practical considerations

MORU

Posted 20/04/2021. Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) is the first-line treatment for uncomplicated falciparum malaria, but the ACT drugs are starting to fail. Triple artemisinin-based combination therapy (TACT) is being studied to replace ACTs. In this paper, Phaik Yeong Cheah and colleagues discuss the most important ethical and practical considerations in the potential deployment of TACT.

G6PD Variants and Haemolytic Sensitivity to Primaquine and Other Drugs

MORU SMRU

Posted 14/04/2021. Germana Bancone and Cindy Chu review the current knowledge about drug-induced haemolysis in G6PD deficiency, and discuss new clinical and laboratory approaches to understand haemolytic risk in G6PD variants. A more comprehensive genotypic and phenotypic characterization, together with haematologic responses upon exposure to different drugs, will help define a clinically useful classification of G6PD variants

The counterintuitive self-regulated learning behaviours of healthcare providers from low-income settings

OCGHR

Posted 13/04/2021. Self-regulated learning (SRL) remains unexplored for healthcare workers in low-income countries. Tim Tuti, Chris Paton and Niall Winters detail how SRL strategies impact on healthcare providers’ learning gains when using digital learning platforms. We apply Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) to questionnaire responses. We provide insights into the learner factors to consider when implementing technology-mediated learning.

Guidelines should not pool evidence from uncomplicated and severe COVID-19

OCGHR

Posted 15/04/2021. Philippe Guérin co-authored a letter published in The Lancet drawing attention of the risk of pooling data from uncomplicated illness and more severe ill hospitalised patients in the development of COVID-19 treatment guidelines. Although SARS-CoV-2 is one virus, the COVID-19 disease has a complex and evolving physiopathology pathway and requires different therapeutic approaches depending of the stage of the disease. In low-resource settings, the prevention of hospital admission is the therapeutic priority.

Feasibility of establishing a rehabilitation programme in a Vietnamese intensive care unit

OUCRU

Posted 09/04/2021. Survivorship after an intensive care unit (ICU) stay is associated with long-term disability throughout the world. Nguyen Thi Kim Anh, Louise Thwaites and colleagues designed, implemented and evaluated the feasibility of a sustainable ICU rehabilitation programme in a resource-limited setting with the aim of improving the long-term outcome of critically ill patients.

Improving treatment and outcomes for melioidosis in children, northern Cambodia, 2009–2018

COMRU MORU

Posted 06/04/2021. Melioidosis is an under-recognised disease, and mortality remains unacceptably high. Treatment requires prolonged antibiotic therapy and adherence is challenging, particular in resource-constrained settings. Arjun Chandna and colleagues at Angkor Hospital for Children reviewed the treatment of 355 children with culture-confirmed melioidosis over a decade and found significant gains can be made over time.

How to do no harm: empowering local leaders to make care safer in low-resource settings

KWTRP OCGHR

Posted 31/03/2021. Patient safety is a key goal of WHO but identifying harms and developing strategies to deliver safe care has been given little attention. Mike English and colleague describe a ‘portfolio’ approach to safety improvement in four broad categories: prioritising critical processes, improving the organisation of care, control of risks and enhancing responses to hazardous situations that we believe is relevant to low resource settings. We focus attention on the possible roles of practitioner groups and professional associations as key to advancing patient safety through collaboration and skill development in this field

What is the yield of malaria reactive case detection in the Greater Mekong Sub-region?

MORU

Posted 30/03/2021. Reactive case detection has played a role in the elimination of malaria in China. The approach has been adapted and is used in the Greater Mekong Subregion. Because it requires considerable man power but only few cases are detected the approach is controversial. Jacqueline Deen, Lorenz Von Seidlein and colleagues included 8 articles in a meta-analysis that found the percentage of positive malaria cases among potential contacts using microscopy or rapid diagnostic test was 0.56%.

Outcomes for 298 breastfed neonates whose mothers received ketamine and diazepam for postpartum tubal ligation in a resource-limited setting

MORU SMRU

Posted 26/03/2021. Ketamine is an essential drug widely used in low-resource settings, but there was no data on its safety in lactating women until this report. In this study by Mary Ellen Gilder and SMRU colleagues, outcomes for breastfeeding infants whose mothers received ketamine are good, and not affected by ketamine dose. In contrast, high dose maternal intravenous diazepam may be harmful.

Data privacy policy

Your rights