Browsing by Author "Kroon, Max"
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- ItemOpen AccessAdverse impact of hospitalisation on infant breastfeeding practices: a prospective cohort study(2019) Alisio, Michelle; Scott, Christiaan; Kroon, MaxBackground: In South Africa, the exclusive breastfeeding prevalence at six months is low at 24% and the under-5 mortality rate remains high. Improving breastfeeding rates is the most cost-effective intervention to reduce under-5 mortality and morbidity. Data on the effect of infant hospitalisation on breastfeeding may inform facility-based interventions to protect and support exclusive and prolonged breastfeeding. Aim: To assess the impact of hospitalisation on breastfeeding and explore reasons for stopping or continuing breastfeeding. Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study of infant feeding practices among mother-infant dyads admitted to general paediatric wards at a tertiary children’s hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. Medical, demographic and feeding practice data were collected through semi-structured interviews on admission, again during hospitalisation and a third interview was conducted telephonically post discharge. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess factors associated with different feeding practices. Results: Between January and April 2018, 119 mothers (median age 26 years, IQR 22-32; 28% HIV-positive) were interviewed at admission; 39% (46/119) breastfed exclusively (EBF) and 28 (24%) reported no breastfeeding. Most infants (median age 1.8 months, IQR 1.0-3.2; 34% preterm) were admitted for lower respiratory tract infection (59%) or diarrhoea (14%). EBF at admission was associated with younger infant age (per month increase, aOR 0.18, 95% CI 0.07-0.43); none of the children admitted for diarrhoea had been EBF. A second in-hospital interview occurred at median 4 days (IQR 2-6) after admission. The overall prevalence of any breastfeeding declined from 77% at admission to 61% in-hospital. Risk factors for in-hospital breastfeeding cessation included low birth weight (<2500g; OR 3.81, 95% CI 1.35-10.74) and feeding via either bottle/tube (OR 51.00, 95% CI 6.38-407.71). Maternal expression of breastmilk (vs no expression in-hospital) was protective against in hospital breastfeeding cessation (OR 0.07, 95% CI 0.01-0.33). Post-discharge telephonic interviews (median 5 months after discharge) were available for 92 mother-infant dyads; 21 infants were ≤ six months of age, of whom 24% (5/21) were still exclusively breastfeeding. Breastfeeding cessation at any time after admission and before post-discharge telephonic interview was associated with maternal HIV infection (OR 2.82, 95% CI 0.84-9.40), full time employment (OR 4.95, 95% CI 1.40-17.46) and preterm birth (OR 3.53, 95% CI 1.27-9.81). Conclusion: Prevalence of both any and exclusive breastfeeding was low at admission to hospital, and lack of breastfeeding strongly correlated with increased risk of an infectious morbidity diagnosis. In addition, hospitalisation substantially reduced the probability of continued breastfeeding. In-hospital breastfeeding support and facilitation of breastmilk expression while infants are unable to breastfeed should be increased. Implementation research may define effective in-hospital breastfeeding support interventions.
- ItemMetadata onlyBreastfeeding experience and practice during the covid-19 pandemic: a qualitative study(2024) Nkanuka-Makangala, Yolanda; Rhoda, Natasha; Kroon, MaxBackground: Breastfeeding is the simplest, safest and most affordable type of infant feeding and critical to child health and survival particularly in countries with a high burden of infectious diseases. The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated restrictions limited access to health care, breastfeeding information and support, and may have impacted the lived experience of mothers and their knowledge, perceptions and practice of infant feeding. Objective: To explore mothers' experience of pregnancy, breastfeeding and the postnatal period during the Covid 19 pandemic and lockdowns in Cape Town, South Africa Methods: A qualitative, descriptive, case study design was utilised to describe the knowledge, perceptions and attitudes of mothers who breastfed their infants during the pandemic. Ten participants, aged between 23 and 36 years (mean = 28.5 years), were purposively recruited from a hospital's short stay ward during April 2021– June 2021. Semi-structured interviews, using an interview guide of open-ended questions and probes, were conducted and recorded. The interviews were conducted in the mothers preferred language (IsiXhosa, English or Afrikaans). The recorded interviews were transcribed and translated into English for analysis. The data were analysed using thematic analysis to generate themes and sub-themes using NVivo 10 software. Results/findings: Breastfeeding knowledge, perceptions and attitudes were captured in six themes namely: 1. Experience of health care services, 2. Experience of the pregnancy, 3. Breastfeeding Experience, 4. Employment and source of income, 5. Breastfeeding knowledge, 6. Psychosocial support. These themes reflect the stress and anxiety of breastfeeding during lockdown, specific needs for financial support and failures of healthcare and society in supporting caregivers. Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic affected breastfeeding mothers differently, influenced by their preceding breastfeeding experience, exposure to infant feeding practices and support or lack thereof. While many mothers struggled with breastfeeding in the face of stressors like isolation, lack of support, conflict with/ loss of loved ones as well as food insecurity, others saw the shutdown restrictions and social distancing as a welcome opportunity to bond with their infants. These mothers used their “unemployment” to increase breastfeeding time with their infants. The study exposed the urgency and importance of strengthening breastfeeding support systems, including protected time for infant care. The lockdown had a paradoxical positive impact, as it protected and promoted breastfeeding while also showcasing the potential of social media platforms for virtual health promotion and breastfeeding support.
- ItemOpen AccessCohort Profile: The Western Cape Pregnancy Exposure Registry (WCPER)(2022-06) Kalk, Emma; Heekes, Alexa; Slogrove, Amy; Phelanyane, Florence; Davies, Mary-Ann; Myer, Landon; Euvrard, Jonathan; Kroon, Max; Petro, Greg; Fieggen, Karen; Stewart, Chantal; Rhoda, Natasha; Gebhardt, Stefan; Osman, Ayesha; Anderson, Kim; Boulle, Andrew; Mehta, UshmaPurpose: The Western Cape Pregnancy Exposure Registry (PER) was established at two public sector healthcare sentinel sites in the Western Cape province, South Africa, to provide ongoing surveillance of drug exposures in pregnancy and associations with pregnancy outcomes. Participants: Established in 2016, all women attending their first antenatal visit at primary care obstetric facilities were enrolled and followed to pregnancy outcome regardless of the site (ie, primary, secondary, tertiary facility). Routine operational obstetric and medical data are digitised from the clinical stationery at the healthcare facilities. Data collection has been integrated into existing services and information platforms and supports routine operations. The PER is situated within the Provincial Health Data Centre, an information exchange that harmonises and consolidates all health-related electronic data in the province. Data are contributed via linkage across a unique identifier. This relationship limits the missing data in the PER, allows validation and avoids misclassification in the population-level data set. Findings to date: Approximately 5000 and 3500 pregnant women enter the data set annually at the urban and rural sites, respectively. As of August 2021, >30 000 pregnancies have been recorded and outcomes have been determined for 93%. Analysis of key obstetric and neonatal health indicators derived from the PER are consistent with the aggregate data in the District Health Information System. Future plans: This represents significant infrastructure, able to address clinical and epidemiological concerns in a low/middle-income setting.
- ItemOpen AccessLaboratory evaluation of the Alere q point-of-care system for early infant HIV diagnosis(Public Library of Science, 2016) Hsiao, Nei-yuan; Dunning, Lorna; Kroon, Max; Myer, LandonIntroduction Early infant diagnosis (EID) and prompt linkage to care are critical to minimise the high morbidity and mortality associated with infant HIV infection. Attrition in the "EID cascade" is common; however, point-of-care (POC) EID assays with same-day result could facilitate prompt linkage of HIV-infected infant to treatment. Despite a number of POC EID assays in development, few have been independently evaluated and data on new technologies are urgently needed to inform policy. METHODS: We compared Alere q 1/2 Detect POC system laboratory test characteristics with the local standard of care (SOC), Roche CAP/CTM HIV-1 qualitative PCR in an independent laboratory-based evaluation in Cape Town, South Africa. Routinely EID samples collected between November 2013 and September 2014 were each tested by both SOC and POC systems. Repeat testing was done to troubleshoot any discrepancy between POC and SOC results. RESULTS: Overall, 1098 children with a median age of 47 days (IQR, 42-117) were included. Birth PCR (age <7 days) comprised of 8% (n = 92) tests while 56% (n = 620) of children tested as part of routine EID (ages 6-14 weeks). In the overall direct comparison, Alere q Detect achieved sensitivity of 95.5% (95% CI, 91.7-97.9%) and a specificity of 99.8% (95% CI, 99.1-100%). Following repeat testing of discordant samples and exclusion of any inconclusive results, the POC assay sensitivity and specificity were 96.9% (95% CI 93.4-98.9%) and 100% (lower 95% CI 98%) respectively. Among birth PCR tests the POC assay had slightly lower sensitivity (93.3% vs 96.5% in routine EID) and higher assay error rate (10% vs 5% in samples of older children, p = 0.04). CONCLUSION: Our results indicate this POC assay performs well for EID in the laboratory. The high specificity and thus high positive predictive value would suggest a positive POC result may be adequate for immediate infant ART initiation. While POC testing for EID may have particular utility for birth testing at delivery facilities, the lower sensitivity and error rate requires further attention, as does field implementation of POC EID technologies in other clinical care settings.
- ItemOpen AccessSerious adverse drug reactions at two children’s hospitals in South Africa(2020-01-04) Mouton, Johannes P; Fortuin-de Smidt, Melony C; Jobanputra, Nicole; Mehta, Ushma; Stewart, Annemie; de Waal, Reneé; Technau, Karl-Günter; Argent, Andrew; Kroon, Max; Scott, Christiaan; Cohen, KarenAbstract Background The high HIV prevalence in South Africa may potentially be shaping the local adverse drug reaction (ADR) burden. We aimed to describe the prevalence and characteristics of serious ADRs at admission, and during admission, to two South African children’s hospitals. Methods We reviewed the folders of children admitted over sequential 30-day periods in 2015 to the medical wards and intensive care units of each hospital. We identified potential ADRs using a trigger tool developed for this study. A multidisciplinary team assessed ADR causality, type, seriousness, and preventability through consensus discussion. We used multivariate logistic regression to explore associations with serious ADRs. Results Among 1050 patients (median age 11 months, 56% male, 2.8% HIV-infected) with 1106 admissions we found 40 serious ADRs (3.8 per 100 drug-exposed admissions), including 9/40 (23%) preventable serious ADRs, and 8/40 (20%) fatal or near-fatal serious ADRs. Antibacterials, corticosteroids, psycholeptics, immunosuppressants, and antivirals were the most commonly implicated drug classes. Preterm neonates and children in middle childhood (6 to 11 years) were at increased risk of serious ADRs compared to infants (under 1 year) and term neonates: adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 5.97 (95% confidence interval 1.30 to 27.3) and aOR 3.63 (1.24 to 10.6) respectively. Other risk factors for serious ADRs were HIV infection (aOR 3.87 (1.14 to 13.2) versus HIV-negative) and increasing drug count (aOR 1.08 (1.04 to 1.12) per additional drug). Conclusions Serious ADR prevalence in our survey was similar to the prevalence found elsewhere. In our setting, serious ADRs were associated with HIV-infection and the antiviral drug class was one of the most commonly implicated. Similar to other sub-Saharan African studies, a large proportion of serious ADRs were fatal or near-fatal. Many serious ADRs were preventable.
- ItemOpen AccessThe effect of maternal HIV status on perinatal outcome at Mowbray Maternity Hospital and referring midwife obstetric units Cape Town(2012) Kennedy, Deon; Fawcus, Sue; Kroon, MaxObjectives. To study the effect of maternal HIV status on perinatal outcome at Mowbray Maternity Hospital (a secondary-level hospital in Cape Town) and its satellite community midwife obstetric units. Design. A retrospective descriptive and comparative study.Setting. Public sector maternity facilities serving historically disadvantaged populations. Subjects. All deliveries at Mowbray Maternity Hospital and its referral midwife obstetric units from January to December 2008. Outcome measures. Stillbirth, early neonatal death, perinatal mortality and neonatal encephalopathy rates in HIV-positive and HIVnegative subjects. Results. There was a total of 18 870 deliveries at the units studied, 3 259 (17.2%) of them to HIV-positive mothers. The stillbirth rate in the HIV-positive population was 17.1/1 000 births, compared with 8.3/1 000 in the HIV-negative population (odds ratio (OR), 2.07, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.5 - 2.8). The early neonatal death rate in the HIV-positive population was 4.6/1 000 live births, compared with 3.1/1 000 in the HIV-negative population (OR 1.46, 95% CI 0.8 - 2.6). The perinatal mortality rate in the HIV-positive population was 21.7/1 000 births, compared with 11.7 in the HIV-negative population (OR 1.91, 95% CI 1.4 - 2.5). A comparison of the pattern of primary obstetric causes of perinatal mortality showed that infection, intra-uterine growth restriction (IUGR) and antepartum haemorrhage (APH) were significantly more common as causes for perinatal death in the HIV-positive population. The risk of neonatal encephalopathy in the HIV-exposed population was 4.9/1 000 live births compared with 2.07 in the HIV-negative group (OR 2.36, 95% CI 1.28 - 4.35). The 1 643 women (8.7% of total deliveries) who were not tested for HIV were at particularly high risk of adverse perinatal outcome. This group included women who had either declined testing or not attended for antenatal care. Conclusion. The perinatal mortality rate in the group of HIV-exposed mothers was significantly higher than that in the HIV-negative group due to a higher stillbirth rate. Infection, IUGR and APH were significantly more common obstetric causes for mortality in the HIV-infected population. The risk of neonatal encephalopathy was also significantly higher in the HIV-positive population.