The role of drug vendors in improving basic health-care services in Nigeria

Objective

To characterize patent and proprietary medicine vendors and shops in Nigeria and to assess their ability to help improve access to high-quality, primary health-care services.

Methods

In 2013 and 2014, a census of patent and proprietary medicine shops in 16 states of Nigeria was carried out to determine: (i) the size and coverage of the sector; (ii) the basic characteristics of shops and their staff; and (iii) the range of products stocked for priority health services, particularly for malaria, diarrhoea and family planning. The influence of the medical training of people in charge of the shops on the health-care products stocked and registration with official bodies was assessed by regression analysis.

Findings

The number of shops per 100 000 population was higher in southern than in northern states, but the average percentage of people in charge with medical training across local government areas was higher in northern states: 52.6% versus 29.7% in southern states. Shops headed by a person with medical training were significantly more likely to stock artemisinin-based combination therapy, oral rehydration salts, zinc, injectable contraceptives and intrauterine contraceptive devices. However, these shops were less likely to be registered with the National Association of Patent and Proprietary Medicine Dealers and more likely to be registered with the regulatory body, the Pharmacist Council of Nigeria.

Conclusion

Many patent and proprietary medicine vendors in Nigeria were medically trained. With additional training and oversight, they could help improve access to basic health-care services. Specifically, vendors with medical training could participate in task-shifting interventions.     

Mass administration of azithromycin and Streptococcus pneumoniae carriage: cross-sectional surveys in the Gambia

Objective

To evaluate the effect of repeated mass drug administration (MDA) of azithromycin in the Gambia on the nasopharyngeal carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae and on the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains.

Methods

This study involved villages that participated in a cluster randomized trial comparing the effect of one versus three azithromycin MDA rounds on the prevalence of trachoma. Only villages in which most children received 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine were included. Three cross-sectional surveys were performed in two villages that received three annual MDA rounds: the first immediately before the third MDA round and the second and third, 1 and 6 months, respectively, after the third MDA round. The third survey also covered six villages that had received one MDA round 30 months previously. Pneumococcal carriage was assessed using nasopharyngeal swabs and azithromycin resistance was detected using the Etest.

Findings

The prevalence of pneumococcal carriage decreased from 43.4% to 19.2% between the first and second surveys (P < 0.001) but rebounded by the third survey (45.8%; P = 0.591). Being a carrier at the first survey was a risk factor for being a carrier at the second (odds ratio: 3.71; P <  0.001). At the third survey, the prevalence of carriage was similar after one and three MDA rounds (50.3% versus 45.8%, respectively; P = 0.170), as was the prevalence of azithromycin resistance (0.3% versus 0.9%, respectively; P = 0.340).

Conclusion

Three azithromycin MDA rounds did not increase the prevalence of nasopharyngeal carriage of azithromycin-resistant S. pneumoniae strains compared with one round.     

Adverse events attributed to traditional Korean medical practices: 1999–2010

Objective

To investigate adverse events attributed to traditional medical treatments in the Republic of Korea.

Methods

Adverse events recorded in the Republic of Korea between 1999 and 2010 – by the Food and Drug Administration, the Consumer Agency or the Association of Traditional Korean Medicine – were reviewed. Records of adverse events attributed to the use of traditional medical practices, including reports of medicinal accidents and consumers’ complaints, were investigated.

Findings

Overall, 9624 records of adverse events attributed to traditional medical practices – including 522 linked to herbal treatments – were identified. Liver problems were the most frequently reported adverse events. Only eight of the adverse events were recorded by the pharmacovigilance system run by the Food and Drug Administration. Of the 9624 events, 1389 – mostly infections, cases of pneumothorax and burns – were linked to physical therapy (n = 285) or acupuncture/moxibustion (n = 1104).

Conclusion

In the Republic of Korea, traditional medical practices often appear to have adverse effects, yet almost all of the adverse events attributed to such practices between 1999 and 2010 were missed by the national pharmacovigilance system. The Consumer Agency and the Association of Traditional Korean Medicine should be included in the national pharmacovigilance system.     

Dicing with chance,life and death in systematic reviews and meta-analyses: D.I.C.E. 3, a simulation study

Objectives

To show the effects of chance on meta-analyses, and the potential dangers of being prompted to do a meta-analysis by one favourable trial.

Design

In total, 100,000 trials were simulated and combined into 10,000 meta-analyses, using data from the control group of a cancer trial. Each participant record was randomly coded to simulate allocation to ‘treatment’ or ‘control’.

Setting

Simulated study.

Participants

De-identified records for 578 patients from the control group of a cancer trial, of whom 147 had died.

Main outcome measure

Time to death from any cause.

Results

Of the 100,000 trials, 4897 (4.9%) were statistically significant at 2p < 0.05 and 123 (1.2%) of the 10,000 meta-analyses were significant at 2p < 0.01. The most extreme result was a 20% reduction (99% CI: 0.70–0.91; 2p = 0.00002) in the annual odds of dying in the ‘treatment’ group. If a meta-analysis contained at least one trial with a statistically significant result (at 2p < 0.05), the likelihood of the meta-analysis being significant (at 2p < 0.01) increased strikingly. For example, among the 473 meta-analyses in which the first trial in a batch of 10 was statistically significant (at 2p < 0.05), 18 (3.8%) favoured treatment at 2p < 0.01.

Conclusions

Chance can influence the results of meta-analyses regardless of how well they are conducted. Researchers should not ignore this when they plan a meta-analysis and when they report their results. People reading their reports should also be wary. Caution is particularly important when the results of one or more included studies influenced the decision to do the meta-analysis.     

Prevalence and determinants of Campylobacter infection among under five children with acute watery diarrhea in Mwanza,North Tanzania

Background

Campylobacteriosis, a zoonotic bacterial disease observed world-wide, is becoming the most commonly recognized cause of bacterial gastroenteritis in humans. This study was done to determine the prevalence and determinants of Campylobacter infection among under-fives with acute watery diarrhea in Mwanza City, Tanzania.

Method

This cross-sectional hospital-based study was conducted at Bugando Medical Centre (BMC) and Sekou Toure Hospital in Mwanza City. All inpatients and outpatients under-fives who met the inclusion criteria from October 2012 to April 2013 were enrolled in the study. Demographic and clinical data were obtained using standardized data collection tools. Stool samples were collected for gram staining and culture for Campylobacter spp. on Preston selective agar media. In addition, blood slides for malaria and HIV tests were done to all patients.

Results

A total of 300 children were enrolled with a median age of 12 [interquartile range, 8–19] months. Of these, 169 (56.5%) were from BMC and 131 (43.7%) from Sekou-Toure hospital. One hundred and seventy (56.7%) of the participating children were male. Of 300 under-fives with acute watery diarrhea, 29 patients (9.7%) were found to have Campylobacter infection. A significant higher number of children with Campylobacter infection were found in Sekou Toure hospital compared to BMC [16.0% (21/29) versus 4.7% (8/29), p = 0.002)]. Age above 2 years was independently found to predict campylobacter infection (OR: 2.9, 95% CI 1.1-7.7, p = 0.0037). Of 30 patients with a positive blood slide for Plasmodium falciparum, 20.0% were also positive for Campylobacter infection (OR: 3.9, 95% CI 1.2-10.1, p = 0.021).

Conclusion

Campylobacter infection shows a comparatively low prevalence in under-fives with acute watery diarrhea in Mwanza city and is independently associated with positive slides for malaria and an age above 2 years. Further studies are needed to type the most prevalent Campylobacter species and to determine their antibiotic susceptibility pattern.     

NHS Scotland reduces the postcode lottery for hip arthroplasty: an ecological study of the impact of waiting time initiatives

Objectives

Following the election of the Labour government in 1997, policies were developed in England to reduce waiting times for NHS treatment with commitments to reduce health inequalities. Similar policies were adopted in Scotland but with less emphasis on the use of the private sector to deliver NHS treatments than in England. This study uses routinely collected NHS Scotland data to analyse geographical and socioeconomic inequalities in elective hip arthroplasty treatment before and after the introduction of the waiting time initiatives in Scotland in 2003.

Design

Ecological study design.

Setting

Scotland.

Participants

NHS-funded patients receiving elective hip arthroplasty delivered by the NHS and private hospitals between 1 April 1998 and 31 March 2008.

Main outcome measures

Directly standardised treatment rates and incidence rate ratios calculated using Poisson regression.

Results

There was a 42% increase in NHS-funded hip arthroplasties carried out in Scotland from 4095 in 2002–2003 (1 April 2002–31 March 2003) to 5829 in 2007–2008. There is evidence of a statistically significant reduction in geographical inequality (likelihood ratio test p < 0.001) but no evidence of any statistically significant change in socioeconomic inequality (p = 0.108), comparing the 5 years after 1 April 2003 with the 5 years before 1 April 2003. The number of NHS-funded hip arthroplasties undertaken privately rose from 1.1% in 2002–2003 to 2.9% in 2007–2008, whereas the NHS Golden Jubilee National Hospital increased its share from 3.3% to 10.6% over the same period.

Conclusions

The reduction in geographical inequality, or ‘postcode lottery’, in hip arthroplasty treatment in Scotland may be due to increased NHS capacity, in particular the development of the NHS Golden Jubilee National Hospital in Clydebank, Greater Glasgow as a dedicated centre to reduce surgery waiting times.     

Ritual circumcision and risk of autism spectrum disorder in 0- to 9-year-old boys: national cohort study in Denmark

Objective

Based on converging observations in animal, clinical and ecological studies, we hypothesised a possible impact of ritual circumcision on the subsequent risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in young boys.

Design

National, register-based cohort study.

Setting

Denmark.

Participants

A total of 342,877 boys born between 1994 and 2003 and followed in the age span 0–9 years between 1994 and 2013.

Main outcome measures

Information about cohort members’ ritual circumcisions, confounders and ASD outcomes, as well as two supplementary outcomes, hyperkinetic disorder and asthma, was obtained from national registers. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) associated with foreskin status were obtained using Cox proportional hazards regression analyses.

Results

With a total of 4986 ASD cases, our study showed that regardless of cultural background circumcised boys were more likely than intact boys to develop ASD before age 10 years (HR = 1.46; 95% CI: 1.11–1.93). Risk was particularly high for infantile autism before age five years (HR = 2.06; 95% CI: 1.36–3.13). Circumcised boys in non-Muslim families were also more likely to develop hyperkinetic disorder (HR = 1.81; 95% CI: 1.11–2.96). Associations with asthma were consistently inconspicuous (HR = 0.96; 95% CI: 0.84–1.10).

Conclusions

We confirmed our hypothesis that boys who undergo ritual circumcision may run a greater risk of developing ASD. This finding, and the unexpected observation of an increased risk of hyperactivity disorder among circumcised boys in non-Muslim families, need attention, particularly because data limitations most likely rendered our HR estimates conservative. Considering the widespread practice of non-therapeutic circumcision in infancy and childhood around the world, confirmatory studies should be given priority.     

Implementing rapid testing for tuberculosis in Mozambique

Problem

In Mozambique, pulmonary tuberculosis is primarily diagnosed with sputum smear microscopy. However this method has low sensitivity, especially in people infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Patients are seldom tested for drug-resistant tuberculosis.

Approach

The national tuberculosis programme and Health Alliance International introduced rapid testing of smear-negative sputum samples. Samples were tested using a polymerase-chain-reaction-based assay that detects Mycobacterium tuberculosis deoxyribonucleic acid and a mutation indicating rifampicin resistance; Xpert® MTB/RIF (Xpert®). Four machines were deployed in four public hospitals along with a sputum transportation system to transfer samples from selected health centres. Laboratory technicians were trained to operate the machines and clinicians taught to interpret the results.

Local setting

In 2012, Mozambique had an estimated 140 000 new tuberculosis cases, only 34% of which were diagnosed and treated. Of tuberculosis patients, 58% are HIV-infected.

Relevant changes

From 2012–2013, 1558 people were newly diagnosed with tuberculosis using sputum smears at intervention sites. Xpert® detected M. tuberculosis in an additional 1081 sputum smear-negative individuals, an increase of 69%. Rifampicin resistance was detected in 58/1081 (5%) of the samples. However, treatment was started in only 82% of patients diagnosed by microscopy and 67% of patients diagnosed with the rapid test. Twelve of 16 Xpert® modules failed calibration within 15 months of implementation.

Lessons learnt

Using rapid tests to diagnose tuberculosis is promising but logistically challenging. More affordable and durable platforms are needed. All patients diagnosed with tuberculosis need to start and complete treatment, including those who have drug resistant strains.     

Efficiency of Nested-PCR in Detecting Asymptomatic Cases toward Malaria Elimination Program in an Endemic Area of Iran

Background:

The aim of this study was to detect low parasite and asymptomatic malaria infections by means of three malaria diagnostic tests, in a low transmission region of Minab district, Hormozgan Province, southern Iran.

Methods:

Blood samples of 200 healthy volunteers from Bagh-e-Malek area were evaluated using microscopic, rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) and nested-PCR to inspect malaria parasite.

Results:

The results showed no Plasmodium parasite in subjects by means of microscopy and RDT. However, 3 P. vivax positive samples (1.5%) were discovered by Nested-PCR while microscopy and RDT missed the cases.

Conclusion:

Microscopy as the gold standard method and RDT correctly identified 98.5% of cases, and molecular analysis is sensitive and reliable, especially in the detection of “asymptomatic” infections for active case surveillance. Regarding the existence of asymptomatic malaria in endemic area of Hormozgan, Iran, nested-PCR could be considered as a sensitive tool to interrupt malaria transmission in the country, beside the microscopic and RDT methods.     

Effect of breastfeeding on immunogenicity of oral live-attenuated human rotavirus vaccine: a randomized trial in HIV-uninfected infants in Soweto,South Africa

Objective

To investigate the effect of abstention from breastfeeding, for an hour before and after each vaccination, on the immune responses of infants to two doses of rotavirus vaccine.

Methods

In Soweto, South Africa, mother–infant pairs who were uninfected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) were enrolled as they presented for the “6-week” immunizations of the infants. Each infant was randomly assigned to Group 1 – in which breastfeeding was deferred for at least 1 h before and after each dose of rotavirus vaccine – or Group 2 – in which unrestricted breastfeeding was encouraged. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were used to evaluate the titres of rotavirus-specific IgA in samples of serum collected from each infant immediately before each vaccine dose and 1 month after the second dose. Among the infants, a fourfold or greater increase in titres of rotavirus-specific IgA following vaccination was considered indicative of seroconversion.

Findings

The evaluable infants in Group 1 (n = 98) were similar to those in Group 2 (n = 106) in their baseline demographic characteristics and their pre-vaccination titres of anti-rotavirus IgA. After the second vaccine doses, geometric mean titres of anti-rotavirus IgA in the sera of Group-1 infants were similar to those in the sera of Group-2 infants (P = 0.685) and the frequency of seroconversion in the Group-1 infants was similar to that in the Group-2 infants (P = 0.485).

Conclusion

Among HIV-uninfected South African infants, abstention from breastfeeding for at least 1 h before and after each vaccination dose had no significant effect on the infants’ immune response to a rotavirus vaccine.     

Estimating the measles effective reproduction number in Australia from routine notification data

Objective

To estimate the measles effective reproduction number (R) in Australia by modelling routinely collected notification data.

Methods

R was estimated for 2009–2011 by means of three methods, using data from Australia’s National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System. Method 1 estimated R as 1 − P, where P equals the proportion of cases that were imported, as determined from data on place of acquisition. The other methods estimated R by fitting a subcritical branching process that modelled the spread of an infection with a given R to the observed distributions of outbreak sizes (method 2) and generations of spread (method 3). Stata version 12 was used for method 2 and Matlab version R2012 was used for method 3. For all methods, calculation of 95% confidence intervals (CIs) was performed using a normal approximation based on estimated standard errors.

Findings

During 2009–2011, 367 notifiable measles cases occurred in Australia (mean annual rate: 5.5 cases per million population). Data were 100% complete for importation status but 77% complete for outbreak reference number. R was estimated as < 1 for all years and data types, with values of 0.65 (95% CI: 0.60–0.70) obtained by method 1, 0.64 (95% CI: 0.56–0.72) by method 2 and 0.47 (95% CI: 0.38–0.57) by method 3.

Conclusion

The fact that consistent estimates of R were obtained from all three methods enhances confidence in the validity of these methods for determining R.     

Mothers Understand And Can do it (MUAC): a comparison of mothers and community health workers determining mid-upper arm circumference in 103 children aged from 6?months to 5?years

Background

Mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) was recently endorsed and recommended for screening for acute malnutrition in the community. The objective of this study was to determine whether a colour-banded MUAC strap would allow minimally trained mothers to screen their own children for malnutrition, without locating the mid-point of the left upper arm by measurement, as currently recommended.

Methods

A non-randomised non-blinded evaluation of mothers’ performance when measuring MUAC after minimal training, compared with trained Community Health Workers (CHW) following current MUAC protocols. The study was conducted in 2 villages in Mirriah, Zinder region, Niger where mothers classified one of their children (n = 103) aged 6–59 months (the current age range for admission into community malnutrition programs) using the MUAC tape.

Results

Mothers’ had a sensitivity and specificity for classification of their child’s nutritional status of > 90% and > 80% respectively for global acute malnutrition (GAM, defined by a MUAC < 125 mm) and > 73% and > 98% for severe acute malnutrition (SAM, defined by a MUAC < 115 mm). The few children misclassified as not having SAM, were classified as having moderate acute malnutrition (MAM). The choice of arm did not influence the classification results; weighted Kappa of 0.88 for mothers and 0.91 for CHW represent almost perfect agreement. Errors occurred at the class boundaries and no gross errors were made.

Conclusions

Advanced SAM is associated with severe complications, which often require hospital admission or cause death. Mothers (with MUAC tapes costing $0.06) can screen their children frequently allowing early diagnosis and treatment thereby becoming the focal point in scaling-up community management of acute malnutrition.

Trial registration

The trial is registered with clinicaltrials.gov (Trial number {"type":"clinical-trial","attrs":{"text":"NCT01790815","term_id":"NCT01790815"}}NCT01790815)     

Changes in government spending on healthcare and population mortality in the European union, 1995–2010: a cross-sectional ecological study

Objective

Economic measures such as unemployment and gross domestic product are correlated with changes in health outcomes. We aimed to examine the effects of changes in government healthcare spending, an increasingly important measure given constrained government budgets in several European Union countries.

Design

Multivariate regression analysis was used to assess the effect of changes in healthcare spending as a proportion of total government expenditure, government healthcare spending as a proportion of gross domestic product and government healthcare spending measured in purchasing power parity per capita, on five mortality indicators. Additional variables were controlled for to ensure robustness of data. One to five year lag analyses were conducted.

Setting and Participants

European Union countries 1995–2010.

Main outcome measures

Neonatal mortality, postneonatal mortality, one to five years of age mortality, under five years of age mortality, adult male mortality, adult female mortality.

Results

A 1% decrease in government healthcare spending was associated with significant increase in all mortality metrics: neonatal mortality (coefficient −0.1217, p = 0.0001), postneonatal mortality (coefficient −0.0499, p = 0.0018), one to five years of age mortality (coefficient −0.0185, p = 0.0002), under five years of age mortality (coefficient −0.1897, p = 0.0003), adult male mortality (coefficient −2.5398, p = 0.0000) and adult female mortality (coefficient −1.4492, p = 0.0000). One per cent decrease in healthcare spending, measured as a proportion of gross domestic product and in purchasing power parity, was both associated with significant increases (p < 0.05) in all metrics. Five years after the 1% decrease in healthcare spending, significant increases (p < 0.05) continued to be observed in all mortality metrics.

Conclusions

Decreased government healthcare spending is associated with increased population mortality in the short and long term. Policy interventions implemented in response to the financial crisis may be associated with worsening population health.     

Occupational and non-occupational factors associated with work-related injuries among construction workers in the USA

Background:

Many factors contribute to occupational injuries. However, these factors have been compartmentalized and isolated in most studies.

Objective:

To examine the relationship between work-related injuries and multiple occupational and non-occupational factors among construction workers in the USA.

Methods:

Data from the 1988–2000 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 cohort (N = 12,686) were analyzed. Job exposures and health behaviors were examined and used as independent variables in four multivariate logistic regression models to identify associations with occupational injuries.

Results:

After controlling for demographic variables, occupational injuries were 18% (95% CI: 1.04–1.34) more likely in construction than in non-construction. Blue-collar occupations, job physical efforts, multiple jobs, and long working hours accounted for the escalated risk in construction. Smoking, obesity/overweight, and cocaine use significantly increased the risk of work-related injury when demographics and occupational factors were held constant.

Conclusions:

Workplace injuries are better explained by simultaneously examining occupational and non-occupational characteristics.     

External quality assessment of Giemsa-stained blood film microscopy for the diagnosis of malaria and sleeping sickness in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Objective

To report the findings of a second external quality assessment of Giemsa-stained blood film microscopy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, performed one year after the first.

Methods

A panel of four slides was delivered to diagnostic laboratories in all provinces of the country. The slides contained: (i) Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes; (ii) P. falciparum trophozoites (reference density: 113 530 per µl); (iii) Trypanosoma brucei subspecies; and (iv) no parasites.

Findings

Of 356 laboratories contacted, 277 (77.8%) responded. Overall, 35.0% of the laboratories reported all four slides correctly but 14.1% reported correct results for 1 or 0 slides. Major errors included not diagnosing trypanosomiasis (50.4%), not recognizing P. falciparum gametocytes (17.5%) and diagnosing malaria from the slide with no parasites (19.0%). The frequency of serious errors in assessing parasite density and in reporting false-positive results was lower than in the previous external quality assessment: 17.2% and 52.3%, respectively, (P < 0.001) for parasite density and 19.0% and 33.3%, respectively, (P < 0.001) for false-positive results. Laboratories that participated in the previous quality assessment performed better than first-time participants and laboratories in provinces with a high number of sleeping sickness cases recognized trypanosomes more frequently (57.0% versus 31.2%, P < 0.001). Malaria rapid diagnostic tests were used by 44.3% of laboratories, almost double the proportion observed in the previous quality assessment.

Conclusion

The overall quality of blood film microscopy was poor but was improved by participation in external quality assessments. The failure to recognize trypanosomes in a country where sleeping sickness is endemic is a concern.     

Dermal, inhalation, and internal exposure to 1,6-HDI and its oligomers in car body repair shop workers and industrial spray painters

Objectives

To study inhalation and dermal exposure to hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) and its oligomers as well as personal protection equipment (PPE) use during task performance in conjunction with urinary hexamethylene diamine (HDA) in car body repair shop workers and industrial spray painters.

Methods

Personal task based inhalation samples (n = 95) were collected from six car body repair shops and five industrial painting companies using impingers with di‐n‐butylamine (DBA) in toluene. In parallel, dermal exposure was assessed using nitril rubber gloves. Gloves were submerged into DBA in toluene after sampling. Analysis for HDI and its oligomers was performed by LC‐MS/MS. Urine samples were collected from 55 workers (n = 291) and analysed for HDA by GC‐MS.

Results

Inhalation exposure was strongly associated with tasks during which aerosolisation occurs. Dermal exposure occurred during tasks that involve direct handling of paint. In car body repair shops associations were found between detectable dermal exposure and glove use (odds ratio (OR) 0.22, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.09 to 0.57) and inhalation exposure level (OR 1.34, 95% CI 0.97 to 1.84 for a 10‐fold increase). HDA in urine could be demonstrated in 36% and 10% of car body repair shop workers and industrial painting company workers respectively. In car body repair shops, the frequency of detectable HDA was significantly elevated at the end of the working day (OR 2.13, 95% CI 1.07 to 4.22 for 3–6 pm v 0–8 am). In both branches HDA was detected in urine of ∼25% of the spray painters. In addition HDA was detected in urine of a large proportion of non‐spray painters in car body repair shops.

Conclusion

Although (spray) painting with lacquers containing isocyanate hardeners results in the highest external exposures to HDI and oligomers, workers that do not perform paint related tasks may also receive a considerable internal dose.     

Mobilizing communities to improve maternal health: results of an intervention in rural Zambia

Objective

To determine whether a complex community intervention in rural Zambia improved understanding of maternal health and increased use of maternal health-care services.

Methods

The intervention took place in six rural districts selected by the Zambian Ministry of Health. It involved community discussions on safe pregnancy and delivery led by trained volunteers and the provision of emergency transport. Volunteers worked through existing government-established Safe Motherhood Action Groups. Maternal health indicators at baseline were obtained from women in intervention (n = 1775) and control districts (n = 1630). The intervention’s effect on these indicators was assessed using a quasi-experimental difference-in-difference approach that involved propensity score matching and adjustment for confounders such as education, wealth, parity, age and distance to a health-care facility.

Findings

The difference-in-difference comparison showed the intervention to be associated with significant increases in maternal health indicators: 14–16% in the number of women who knew when to seek antenatal care; 10–15% in the number who knew three obstetric danger signs; 12–19% in those who used emergency transport; 22–24% in deliveries involving a skilled birth attendant; and 16–21% in deliveries in a health-care facility. The volunteer drop-out rate was low. The estimated incremental cost per additional delivery involving a skilled birth attendant was around 54 United States dollars, comparable to that of other demand-side interventions in developing countries.

Conclusion

The community intervention was associated with significant improvements in women’s knowledge of antenatal care and obstetric danger signs, use of emergency transport and deliveries involving skilled birth attendants.     

Long-term mortality among older adults with burn injury: a population-based study in Australia

Objective

To assess if burn injury in older adults is associated with changes in long-term all-cause mortality and to estimate the increased risk of death attributable to burn injury.

Methods

We conducted a population-based matched longitudinal study – based on administrative data from Western Australia’s hospital morbidity data system and death register. A cohort of 6014 individuals who were aged at least 45 years when hospitalized for a first burn injury in 1980–2012 was identified. A non-injury comparison cohort, randomly selected from Western Australia’s electoral roll (n = 25 759), was matched to the patients. We used Kaplan–Meier plots and Cox proportional hazards regression to analyse the data and generated mortality rate ratios and attributable risk percentages.

Findings

For those hospitalized with burns, 180 (3%) died in hospital and 2498 (42%) died after discharge. Individuals with burn injury had a 1.4-fold greater mortality rate than those with no injury (95% confidence interval, CI: 1.3–1.5). In this cohort, the long-term mortality attributable to burn injury was 29%. Mortality risk was increased by both severe and minor burns, with adjusted mortality rate ratios of 1.3 (95% CI: 1.1–1.9) and 2.1 (95% CI: 1.9–2.3), respectively.

Conclusion

Burn injury is associated with increased long-term mortality. In our study population, sole reliance on data on in-hospital deaths would lead to an underestimate of the true mortality burden associated with burn injury.     

Systematic review of statistics on causes of deaths in hospitals: strengthening the evidence for policy-makers

Objective

To systematically review the reliability of hospital data on cause of death and encourage periodic reviews of these data using a standard method.

Methods

We searched Google Scholar, Pubmed and Biblioteca Virtual de la Salud for articles in English, Spanish and Portuguese that reported validation studies of data on cause of death. We analysed the results of 199 studies that had used medical record reviews to validate the cause of death reported on death certificates or by the vital registration system.

Findings

The screened studies had been published between 1983 and 2013 and their results had been reported in English (n = 124), Portuguese (n = 25) or Spanish (n = 50). Only 29 of the studies met our inclusion criteria. Of these, 13 had examined cause of death patterns at the population level – with a view to correcting cause-specific mortality fractions – while the other 16 had been undertaken to identify discrepancies in the diagnosis for specific diseases before and after medical record review. Most of the selected studies reported substantial misdiagnosis of causes of death in hospitals. There was wide variation in study methodologies. Many studies did not describe the methods used in sufficient detail to be able to assess the reproducibility or comparability of their results.

Conclusion

The assumption that causes of death are being accurately reported in hospitals is unfounded. To improve the reliability and usefulness of reported causes of death, national governments should do periodic medical record reviews to validate the quality of their hospital cause of death data, using a standard.