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Background: Dialysis is lifesaving for acute kidney injury (AKI), but access is poor in less resourced settings. A "peritoneal dialysis (PD) first" policy for paediatric AKI is more feasible than haemodialysis in low-resource settings. Methods: Retrospective review of modalities and outcomes of children dialysed acutely at Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital between 1998 and 2020. Results: Of the 593 children with AKI who received dialysis, 463 (78.1%) received PD first. Median age was 9.0 (range 0.03–219.3; IQR 13.0–69.6) months; 57.6% were < 1 year old. Weights ranged from 0.9 to 2.0 kg (median 7.0 kg, IQR 3.0–16.0 kg); 38.6% were < 5 kg. PD was used more in younger children compared to extracorporeal dialysis (ECD), with median ages 6.4 (IQR 0.9–30.4) vs. 73.9 (IQR 17.5–113.9) months, respectively (p = 0.001). PD was performed with Seldinger soft catheters (n = 480/578, 83%), predominantly inserted by paediatricians at the bedside (n = 412/490, 84.1%). Complications occurred in 127/560 (22.7%) children receiving PD. Overall, 314/542 (57.8%) children survived. Survival was significantly lower in neonates (< 1 month old, 47.5%) and infants (1–12 months old, 49.2%) compared with older children (> 1 year old, 70.4%, p < 0.0001). Survival was superior in the ECD (75.4%) than in the PD group (55.6%, p = 0.002). Conclusions: "PD First for Paediatric AKI" is a valuable therapeutic approach for children with AKI. It is feasible in low-resourced settings where bedside PD catheter insertion can be safely taught and is an acceptable dialysis modality, especially in settings where children with AKI would otherwise not survive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: There are few population-based studies of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) in sub-Saharan Africa, and the published criteria that are used to define and grade HIE are too variable for meaningful comparisons between studies and populations. Our objectives were (1) to investigate how the incidence of HIE in our region varies with different criteria for intrapartum hypoxia and (2) to determine how encephalopathy severity varies with different grading systems. Method: We reviewed the records of infants with a diagnosis of HIE born between September 2008 and March 2009 in public facilities in the Southern Cape Peninsula, South Africa. The incidence of HIE was calculated according to four definitions of intrapartum hypoxia and graded according to three methods. Results: Depending on which defining criteria were applied, the incidence of HIE varied from 2.3 to 4.3 per 1000 live births, of mild HIE ranged from 0.4 to 1.3 per 1000 live births, and of moderate-severe HIE ranged from 1.5 to 3.7 per 1000 live births. Ninety-seven of the 110 (88%) infants reviewed had at least one intrapartum-related abnormality. Only 62 (56%) infants had a blood gas performed in the first hour of life. Conclusion: The incidence and grade of HIE can vary more than 2-fold in the same population, depending on which defining criteria are used. Consensus definitions are needed for benchmarking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]