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Abstract Background Caesarean section is a commonly performed operation worldwide. It has been found to increase rates of maternal infectious morbidities more than five times when compared to vaginal delivery. Provision of intravenous prophylactic antibiotics 30 to 60 minutes prior to caesarean section has been found to reduce post-caesarean infection tremendously. Many centers recommend provision of a single dose of antibiotics, as repeated doses offer no benefit over a single dose. At Bugando Medical Centre post caesarean infection is among the top five causes of admission at the post-natal ward. Unfortunately, there is no consistent protocol for the administration of antibiotic prophylaxis to patients who are designated for caesarean section. Common practice and generally the clinician’s preference are to provide repeated dosages of antibiotic prophylaxis after caesarean section to most of the patients. This study aims to determine the comparative efficacy of a single dose of gentamicin in combination with metronidazole versus multiple doses for prevention of post caesarean infection. Methods/Design The study is an interventional, open-label, two-armed, randomized, single-center study conducted at Bugando Medical Centre Mwanza, Tanzania. It is an ongoing trial for the period of seven months; 490 eligible candidates will be enrolled in the study. Study subjects will be randomly allocated into two study arms; “A” and “B”. Candidates in “A” will receive a single dose of gentamicin in combination with metronidazole 30 to 60 minutes prior to the operation and candidates in “B” will receive the same drugs prior to the operation and continue with gentamicin and metronidazole for 24 hours. The two groups will be followed up for a period of one month and assessed for signs and symptoms of surgical site infection. Data will be extracted from a case record form and entered into Epi data3.1 software before being transferred to SPSS version 17.0 for analysis. The absolute difference in proportion of women who develop surgical site infection in the two study arms will be the effectiveness of one regime over the other. Trial registration Current Controlled TrialsISRCTN44462542.

Background: The dual burden of road traffic accidents and antimicrobial resistance in orthopaedic infections is challenging already strained health-care systems. Limited information exists in Tanzania on antimicrobial resistance surveillance to delineate the potential sources of multi-drug-resistant bacteria for specific mitigation strategies among orthopaedic patients. Methods: A longitudinal study was conducted at Bugando Medical Centre in Mwanza city between January and May 2020. It involved the collection of rectal swabs/stools, hand swabs, and environmental sampling to identify extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing gram-negative bacteria. Participants' data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analysed to determine factors associated with ESBL colonization among index orthopaedic patients and correlates with other ESBL sources using OR (95% CI) and a cut-off p-value of ≤ 0.05. Results: We found that 47.2% (125/265) of index patients, 77.8% (14/18) of neighbouring patients, 8.3% (2/24) of health-care workers, 72.2% (13/18) of non-medical caregivers, and 31.4% (27/86) of samples taken from the hospital environment had ESBL producers. Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp. predominated among participants and Acinetobacter spp. predominated in the environmental samples. Patients with open fractures had increased odds of being colonized with ESBL producers [OR (95% CI): 2.08 (1.16– 3.75); p=0.015]. The floor below patients' beds was commonly contaminated; however, the odds of environmental contamination decreased on the third round of sampling [OR (95% CI: 0.16 (0.04– 0.67); p=0.012], apparently as a result of parallel infection prevention and control responsive measures against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Conclusion: We found a high occurrence of ESBL colonization among participants and in the environmentat this tertiary hospital. The importance of routine ESBL surveillance among orthopaedic patients with open fractures on admission and strengthened decontamination of health-care premises is reiterated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives The study aimed at assessing the Tuberculosis (TB) medication adherence level and the efficacy of smear microscopy in the diagnosing pulmonary TB at month 2. Methods A prospective study was conducted at the four sites located in the Northern-western Tanzania. New smear positive, pulmonary TB patients were followed up and their adherence to TB medication assessed after 2 months of the treatment. In addition, the acid fast bacilli (AFB) smear microscopy was performed after 2 and 5 months of the treatment. All smear positive samples were subjected to geneXpert (MTB/RIF) assay and culture on the Lowenstein Jensen (LJ) media. Results A total of 331 smear positive, newly diagnosed patients with pulmonary TB were enrolled. The median age was 36 [Interquartile range (IQR): 28–45] years and males formed the slightly majority, 187 (56.5%) of the participants. A total of 105 (31.7%) patients were infected with HIV. Out of 331 patients, 36 (10.9%) were still AFB smear positive at the end of two month. Of these 19 (52.8%) were positive on GeneXpert MTB RIF and none was Rifampicin resistant. Of note, only 13 (31.1%) were culture positive (viable). None of the patients was positive at month 5. Poor adherence to TB medications in the first 2 months of treatment was observed in 56/331 (16.9%) [95% CI = 12.9–21.0] of the patients. Conclusion Over two thirds of smear positive patients are wrongly put in one month extension of the intensive phase treatment; this may cause increased costs and drug toxicity. Culture should be advocated to confirm smear positivity after 2 months of medications. TB treatment drug adherence in our setting is good and is associated with successful cure. No multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) was observed. Continued surveillance and emphasizing of TB drug adherence should be kept upbeat in order to control tuberculosis in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anaemia is a major public health problem in developing countries, contributing significantly to morbidity and mortality amongst children under-five years of age. About 43% of under-fives are anaemic worldwide, and two-thirds reside in sub-Saharan Africa. Even where blood transfusion is available for treatment there is still a significant case fatality rate ranging between 6 and 18%. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and morphological types of anaemia, as well as factors associated with severe anaemia in under-five children admitted at Bugando Medical Centre (BMC). Methods: This was a hospital-based, cross-sectional study conducted between November 2012 and February 2013. Selected laboratory investigations were done on children admitted to BMC. Anaemia was defined using WHO criteria. Results: A total of 448 under-five children were recruited into the study. The overall prevalence of anaemia was 77.2% (346/448) with mild, moderate and severe anaemia being 16.5, 33 and 27.7% respectively. Microcytic hypochromic anaemia was detected in 37.5% of the children with anaemia. Of 239 children with moderate and severe anaemia, 22.6% (54/239) had iron deficiency anaemia based on serum ferritin level less than12 µg/ml. The factors associated with severe anaemia included unemployment of the parent, malaria parasitaemia and presence of sickle haemoglobin. Conclusion: The prevalence of anaemia among under-five children admitted at BMC was high. Iron deficiency anaemia was the most common type. Factors associated with severe anaemia were unemployment among caretakers, malaria parasitaemia and presence of sickle haemoglobin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laboratory confirmation among presumptive tuberculosis (PTB) patients is pivotal in ensuring prompt management. Limited information exists in Tanzania regarding the performance of GeneXpert MTB/RIF® in comparison with conventional methods. An operational study was conducted involving 806 PTB patients at Sekou Toure Hospital in Mwanza, Tanzania from June to November 2013. Patients' information was obtained and their respective sputum samples analyzed by lightemitting diode fluorescent microscopy (LED FM) and GeneXpert MTB/RIF®. The mean age of study participants was 39.6±16.0 years, with males accounting for 50.5%. The majority of patients (97.5%) were new cases. The proportions of PTB patients confirmed by LED FM and GeneXpert MTB/RIF® were 14.1% (114/806) and 23.7% (191/806) respectively, resulting into a 9.6% incremental detection rate by GeneXpert MTB/RIF® over LED FM. The detection rate among HIV positive individuals was also higher [23.6% (63/267) vs 14.2% (38/267), respectively], with an incremental detection of 9.4%. The incremental detection of PTB by GeneXpert MTB/RIF® over LED FM calls for expansion of its use to increase detection of smear negative PTB among people living with HIV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sero-positivity rates of the rubella virus among pregnant women vary widely throughout the world. In Tanzania, rubella vaccination is not included in the national immunization schedule and there is therefore no antenatal screening for this viral disease. So far, there are no reports on the sero-prevalence of rubella among pregnant women in Tanzania. As a result, this study was undertaken to establish the sero-positivity rate of rubella and rubella risk factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care clinics in Mwanza, Tanzania. Methods: From November 2012 to May 2013 a total of 350 pregnant women were enrolled and their serum samples collected and analyzed using the AXSYM anti-rubella virus IgG/IgM-MEIA test. Demographic and clinical data were collected using a standardized data collection tool. Data analysis was done using STATA version 12. Results: Of 342 pregnant women tested for rubella antibodies, 317 (92.6%) were positive for anti-rubella IgG while only 1 (0.3%) was positive for IgM. Higher sero-positivity rates were found in the age group of 25-44 years. Furthermore, it was observed that with each year increase in age, the risk of contracting rubella increases by 12% (OR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.02-1.22, P = 0.019). Women involved in farming and business women were at a higher risk of contracting rubella infection compared to formally employed women (OR: 4.9, P = 0.011; OR 7.1, p = 0.003 respectively). In univariate analysis, the risk of contracting rubella virus infection was found to increase with gestational age with a statistical significance. Conclusions: Sero-positivity rates of rubella are high in Mwanza and are significantly associated with an increase in age and being a farmer or a business woman. Screening of rubella and immunization of women at risk are highly recommended in this area with a high non-immune rate against rubella virus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Caesarean section(C/S) has been found to increase rates of maternal infectious morbidities five times more than vaginal delivery. The provision of intravenous prophylactic antibiotics 30 to 60 minutes prior to C/S has been found to substantially reduce post-caesarean infection. At Bugando Medical Centre, there is no consistent protocol for the administration of antibiotic prophylaxis to patients who are undergoing emergency C/S. Providing repeated dosages of antibiotic prophylaxis after C/S is the common practice. This study aimed to determine the comparative efficacy of a single dose of gentamicin in combination with metronidazole versus multiple doses for prevention of post-caesarean infection. Methods: From October 2011 to May 2012, a randomized, equivalence, non-blinding clinical trial was conducted at Bugando Medical Centre in Mwanza, Tanzania. A total of 500 eligible participants were enrolled in the study and were randomly allocated into two study arms -- "A" and "B". Participants in "A" received a single dose of gentamicin in combination with metronidazole 30 to 60 minutes prior to the operation, and participants in "B" received the same drugs prior to the operation but continued with for 24 hours. Both groups had 30 days of follow-up and were assessed for signs and symptoms of surgical-site infection as the primary outcome. The equivalence margin was set at 5%. The two-tailed equivalence was analyzed based on intention- to-treat analysis. Results: The randomization was proper, as the distribution of various demographic and other baseline characteristics had a p-value of > 0.05. All 500 participants were included in our analysis; of these, no participants were lost to follow-up. Surgical-site infection occurred in 12 out of the 250 (4.8%) receiving single dose compared to 16 out of the 250 (6.4%) receiving multiple doses. There is an absolute proportion difference of 1.6% (95% Confidence interval: -2.4 - 5.6%) which lies outside the pre-specified 5% equivalence margin. Conclusion: We recommend the administration of pre-operative single dose antibiotic prophylaxis for emergency caesarean as this intervention proved to be not equivalent to multiple doses antibiotic prophylaxis in reducing surgical site infection. Single dose therapy also reduces staff workload along with medication costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]