Document Detail


Hypothetical performance of syndrome-based management of acute paediatric admissions of children aged more than 60 days in a Kenyan district hospital.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  12764512     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the outpatient, syndrome-based approach of the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) protocol could be extended to the inpatient arena to give clear and simple minimum standards of care for poorly resourced facilities. METHODS: A prospective, one-year admission cohort retrospectively compared hypothetical performance of syndrome-based management with paediatrician-defined final diagnosis. Admission syndrome definitions were based on local adaptations to the IMCI protocol that encompassed 20 clinical features, measurement of oxygen saturation, and malaria microscopy. FINDINGS: After 315 children with clinically obvious diagnoses (e.g. sickle cell disease and burns) were excluded, 3705 admission episodes were studied. Of these, 2334 (63%) met criteria for at least one severe syndrome (mortality 8% vs <1% for "non-severe" cases), and half of these had features of two or more severe syndromes. No cases of measles were seen. Syndrome-based treatment would have been appropriate (sensitivity >95%) for severe pneumonia, severe malaria, and diarrhoea with severe dehydration, and probably for severe malnutrition (sensitivity 71%). Syndrome-directed treatment suggested the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics in 75/133 (56% sensitivity) children with bacteraemic and 63/71 (89% sensitivity) children with meningitis. CONCLUSIONS: Twenty clinical features, oxygen saturation measurements, and results of malaria blood slides could be used for inpatient, syndrome-based management of acute paediatric admissions. The addition of microscopy of the cerebrospinal fluid and haemoglobin measurements would improve syndrome-directed treatment considerably. This approach might rationalize admission policy and standardize inpatient paediatric care in resource-poor countries, although the clinical detection of bacteraemia remains a problem.
Authors:
Mike English; James Berkley; Isiah Mwangi; Shebbe Mohammed; Maimuna Ahmed; Faith Osier; Neema Muturi; Bernhards Ogutu; Kevin Marsh; Charles R J C Newton
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't     Date:  2003-05-16
Journal Detail:
Title:  Bulletin of the World Health Organization     Volume:  81     ISSN:  0042-9686     ISO Abbreviation:  Bull. World Health Organ.     Publication Date:  2003  
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2003-05-23     Completed Date:  2003-07-07     Revised Date:  2009-05-29    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  7507052     Medline TA:  Bull World Health Organ     Country:  Switzerland    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  166-73     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Centre for Geographic Medicine Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute/Wellcome Trust Research Laboratories, Kilifi, Kenya. menglish@kilifi.mimcom.net
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Acute Disease / classification*
Algorithms
Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use
Child, Hospitalized
Child, Preschool
Decision Support Systems, Clinical
Diagnostic Errors / prevention & control
Diagnostic Services / standards*
Female
Hospitals, District / standards*
Humans
Infant
Kenya
Male
Patient Admission
Pediatrics / standards*
Prospective Studies
Syndrome
Therapeutics / standards*
Chemical
Reg. No./Substance:
0/Anti-Bacterial Agents

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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