Browsing by Subject "Cape Town"

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    A descriptive study of treatment provision for problem alcohol drinking in adult males in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, South Africa
    (BioMed Central, 2017-12-04) Saban, Amina; Morojele, Neo; London, Leslie
    Background: Poor, Black African males are underrepresented as patients in facilities that treat problem drinking in Cape Town, South Africa. Reasons for this remain unclear, but factors such as the kinds of treatment provided, perceptions of treatment efficacy, social stigma and traditional treatment beliefs have been suggested as possible barriers to treatment seeking. This descriptive study examined the availability and nature of problem drinking treatment facilities in Khayelitsha, a largely poor township of Black, Xhosa-speaking Africans, on the outskirts of Cape Town. Methods: Seven treatment facilities for problem drinking in adult males were identified using data from the Department of Social Development in the City of Cape Town. Staff members were identified as key informants at each of the treatment facilities, and were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Twelve interviews were conducted. Results: Findings indicated that the available alcohol treatment facilities were relatively new, that treatment modalities varied both across and within treatment facilities, and that treatment was provided largely by social workers. Treatment facilities did not accommodate overnight stay for patients, operated during weekday office hours, and commonly referred patients to the same psychiatric hospital. Discussion: The study provides a baseline for assessing barriers to treatment for problem drinking in Khayelitsha by highlighting the nature of available facilities as playing a predominantly screening role with associated social work services, and a point of referral for admission to a psychiatric institution for treatment. The social and financial implications of such referral are pertinent to the discussion of treatment barriers. Conclusions: Recommendations are made to inform policy towards locally-provided integrated care to improve treatment provision and access.
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    A flood of communications in a drought: a frame analysis of the City of Cape Town's communications during the 2017-2018 water crisis
    (2020) Hill, Erin; Scott, Diane; Taylor, Anna
    Like many other urban areas around the world, Cape Town, South Africa relies on governmental management authorities to ensure water supply. Recently, a three year drought from 2015 to 2018 caused a major water shortage, threatening water supply to the city. In response, the City engaged in multiple mitigation efforts, amongst which was a major communications campaign to inform the public and encourage conservation behaviour. Drawing on literature on water crisis management and framing theory, this thesis analyses how the water crisis was framed in communications made available online by the City of Cape Town (CCT) to the public between March 2017 and March 2018. To answer this question, the project adopted a frames study approach to determine the types and characteristics of communication items released by the City of Cape Town, as the water managing authority, during the recent water crisis. The study established that a range of frames were employed by the CCT in communicating the drought. Through an analysis of the trends in the framing of the water crisis messages the study further identified the shifts in framing and messaging throughout the water crisis response period. Six key frames were identified, namely ‘the City success story'; ‘obscurity and ambiguity'; ‘consumption is key'; ‘the situation is controllable'; ‘together we can beat the drought'; and ‘us versus them'. It was found that while there may have been a lack of strategic planning regarding public communications which resulted in conflated messages, the City's communications campaign was nonetheless effective in that it correlated with a significant drop in private – individual and household – water consumption which delayed Day Zero (when water supply would be cut-off and daily water rations would only be available at collection points for the public). The key implication of this study is that despite contradictions, idiosyncrasies and lack of planning, a heterogenous range of messages in communicating a crisis can reach and evoke appropriate responses from multiple audiences of the public.
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    A formative evaluation of the parent infant home visiting programme
    (2021) Percival, Sheridan-Lee; Boodhoo, Adiilah
    Background The Parent-Infant Home Visiting Programme (PIVHP) is a home-based parenting programme targeted at new and expectant mothers, characterised as vulnerable. Participants are recruited from low-income communities situated on the Cape Flats, in Cape Town, South Africa. The programme consists of antenatal and postnatal sessions, facilitated by trained Parent Infant Attachment Counsellors (PIACs) recruited from target communities. There are two programme cycles per year: one from January to June, and a second one from July to December. The overarching goal of PIHVP is to contribute towards the prevention of child abuse, abandonment and neglect; and to promote positive infant growth and development. The programme has to date not been guided by an explicit theory of change (TOC). There was no Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) system in place, at the time of the evaluation, either. The programme engages in extensive data collection for administrative purposes. This data, however, is not captured nor analysed systematically to monitor progress or measure impact. This formative evaluation aims to capitalise on the existing data. Evaluation Focus This evaluation focused on the first 2019 programme cycle. The main objective of this evaluation was to determine the extent to which the PIHVP had been implemented with fidelity. As such, a process evaluation was conducted to address the following evaluation questions: 1. Did the PIHVP beneficiaries recruited for the first 2019 programme cycle meet the eligibility criteria specified by programme? 2. What proportion of participants completed and dropped out of the PIHVP during the first programme cycle of 2019? What are the reasons provided for programme dropout? questions: 3. To what extent did the PIHVP meet its targeted number of participants? What are the reasons for over/under coverage? 4. Did the participants receive the home-visiting sessions at the duration and frequency prescribed by the programme model? 5. Did PIACs complete and conduct all programme activities, developmental screenings and demonstrations as intended? 6. How did participants perceive PIACs in terms of the support they provided and their preparation level, knowledge, and reliability? 7. To what extent do PIACs implement the skills acquired through their training into their sessions? 8. Are the participants satisfied with the service they received? What are the strengths and limitations they identified? 9. To what extent did participants engage with the PIACs (around the content) during home-visit sessions? Methodology The evaluator first extracted and refined the programme's TOC through structured consultations with the programme manager. The plausibility of the PIHVP's programme theory was then assessed through an extensive literature review. The evaluator then proceeded with the process evaluation. A mixed methods approach was used, as combination of both primary and secondary data sources, and quantitative and qualitative data analysis were used to systematically answer the evaluation questions.
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    A model for an urban structure on the Cape Flats
    (1969) Fox, Revel; Cotta, Jose
    In 1966 the American Institute of Planners mounted a two year consultation to study the Next Fifty Years. Part 1 was entitled Optimum Environment with Man as the Measure. It was this arresting theme and the papers that flowed from it ( 1) that became the central idea and the broad objective of the study. The method by which this study is carried out is by means of a model for an urban structure, as a basis for a satisfactory framework for human settlement. After due consideration a purely abstract diagram is rejected in favour of a model designed in conformity with all known criteria but theoretical in the sense that detailed topographical and locality constraints are subdued. With this method the essential nature of the diagram is undiluted, and the processes of analysis are easily grasped.
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    A model for an urban structure on the Cape Flats
    (1969) Fox, Revel, 1924-; Cotta, Jose
    In 1966 the American Institute of Planners mounted a two year consultation to study the Next Fifty Years. Part 1 was entitled Optimum Environment with Man as the Measure. It was this arresting theme and the papers that flowed from it ( 1) that became the central idea and the broad objective of the study. The method by which this study is carried out is by means of a model for an urban structure, as a basis for a satisfactory framework for human settlement. After due consideration a purely abstract diagram is rejected in favour of a model designed in conformity with all known criteria but theoretical in the sense that detailed topographical and locality constraints are subdued. With this method the essential nature of the diagram is undiluted, and the processes of analysis are easily grasped.
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    A study for the redevelopment of Muizenberg
    (1968) Hockly, Anthony H
    From being "South Africa's Premier Holiday Resort", Muizenberg today presents a picture of a depressed resort suburb. This Thesis will study the physical, social and economic characteristics of the area and by relating them to present and likely future patterns of social activity, identify the problems that beset the area and gauge Muizenberg's future as a holiday resort. The Thesis will then put forward proposals for the relief of these problems and present a redevelopment plan within the general framework of which detailed physical form could be planned.
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    An evaluation of the Cape Townships Ordinance, no. 33 of 1934, as amended
    (1974) Binedell, O B; Chapman, R.
    Accepting that there may be scope for improvement, the goal of this thesis is to evaluate in certain depth the performance of the Cape Townships Ordinance against the background of present day 6. development pressures and a sound approach to planning. The subject is tackled by presenting "Ideals to strive for", "The status quo", "An evaluation", "Remedies" and a 'Summary". Map No.1 orientates the reader geographically to the Cape Province in which the Ordinance functions.
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    ‘Asihlali Phantsi!': a study of agency among isiXhosa-speaking women traders in a Cape Town township
    (2020) Mpofu-Mketwa, Tsitsi Jane; de Wet, Jacques
    This study examined how isiXhosa-speaking women street traders in Cape Town's Langa Township exercised agency in responding to similar structural constraints and opportunities that affected their livelihoods. Drawing on Giddens's Structuration Theory and Sen's Capabilities Approach, I unpacked and conceptualised agency as five dimensions (reflexivity, motivation, rationality, purposive action and transformative capacity). This analytical framework was then used to assess the ways in which women from a poor township community exercised their agency as street traders. A case study methodology (n=25) was adopted using participant observation and in-depth interviews. Miles and Huberman's thematic coding approach guided the qualitative analysis. The study found that structurally imposed constraints were rooted in class, multiple sources of power dynamics, and material constraints related to health; while opportunities emanated from market mechanisms of supply and demand, community social support systems in the form of social capital and social networks, family support and statutory social welfare programmes. Other key findings included resistance to patriarchy, cultural norms and practices, such as submission to abusive partners and unreasonable demands from extended family members. The findings report structure and agency as mutually constitutive in so far as familial circumstances, previous work experience, social capital, educational achievements and temporality either reinforced or diminished the participants' agency. Three profiles of agency among the women traders emerged from the data. The profiles demonstrated varying degrees of enablement (most enabled, moderately enabled and least enabled) and that individual agency was a distinguishing factor. Reflexivity, as a dimension of agency, presented as more fluid and malleable than the other four dimensions. The findings show that agency is reasonably elastic and it can expand capabilities and opportunities for enablement. Finally, the study proposed a diagnostic tool for assessing and enhancing agency with potential applications in entrepreneurial training for development. My study contributes to a theoretical understanding of the concept of agency, the role it plays in development at a micro-level and criteria for assessment. Furthermore, lessons learnt from the profiles can be applied to development practice and entrepreneurial training among African women traders.
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    Assessment of perceived characteristics of solar lamps in Khayelitsha
    (IEEE, 2016-02-17) Reckson, S; Madhlopa, A
    Energy plays a vital role in the socio-economic development of any nation. Nevertheless, many people do not have access to modern energy services for lighting or other applications. Solar lamps are an innovation of modern lighting services for low-income households. In spite of the benefits associated with the adoption of solar lamps there have been few attempts for the diffusion of this technology among South Africa residences. The objective of this study was to assess perceived characteristics of solar lamps from persons in non-electrified households in Khayelitsha, Cape Town (South Africa). Such households rely predominantly on paraffin lamps and candles for lighting. The authors wished to assess public perceived characteristics of solar lamps (relative advantage, compatibility, complexity and affordability in a preliminary persuasive stage). Primary data was collected through use of a structured questionnaire (respondents completed 26). Each response - from `strongly disagree' to `strongly agree' received an integer score of 1 to 5. In addition, data reliability was determined by using Cronbach's Alpha. Results indicated most respondents perceived solar lamps as more advantageous, compatible and affordable than paraffin lamps and candles. Answers swayed more towards `disagree' on the complexity of the technology. The values of alpha ranged from 0.46 (for affordability) to 0.84 (for relative advantage, indicating solar lamps had a significant perceived relative advantage over paraffin lamps and candles.
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    Bildung beyond the borders: racial ambiguity and subjectivity in three post-apartheid bildungsromane
    (2019) Gamedze, Londiwe Hannah; Ouma, Christopher; Mkhize, Khwezi
    This dissertation examines the subject formation of racially ambiguous protagonists in K Sello Duiker’s Thirteen Cents, (2001), Yewande Omotoso’s Bom Boy (2011) and Zoe Wicomb’s Playing in the Light (2006), three Bildungsromane set in post-apartheid Cape Town—the mother city—whose violent, racist histories of colonial encounters, slavery and apartheid have led to a strong social sense of racial group belonging and racial exclusion. It is between and among these strictly policed racial groups that these novels’ protagonists seek belonging and a place in society from which to act and speak. Although different aspects of racial ambiguity are foregrounded in these novels—namely phenotypical, cultural and political—these protagonists are all socially marginalised and they must form their identities and subjectivities at the intersections of social trauma and personal trauma brought about and catalyzed by the racist history and current socio-cultural formations in South Africa. Across the two socioscapes of society and family, this trauma is manifest as a gap in language—there is no affirming or cogent racial subject position for these figures from which to speak—and at the level of the body, where circulations of feeling produce the racially ambiguous body as abject or non-existent. As a sub-genre, the post-colonial Bildungsroman has been widely appraised as reconfiguring the thematic, structural and narrative traditions of its classical European counterpart, and my dissertation argues that these novels support this understanding. I also claim that they trace their racially ambiguous protagonists’ subject formation not from an initial subject position of self-centered, willful childhood innocence and ignorance but from a state of non-subjectivity into existence itself—proposing that the trajectories of the novels trace an ontological rather than ideological shift.
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    Cape Town central city study, 1972
    (1972) Johnston, G; Richardson, B C; Smoor, P
    In March of this year, the third year planning practice class was presented with a project which involved certain studies leading towards the creation of planning proposals for central Cape Town. The class, consisting of five students, was informed that the Cape Town City Council had decided to create a bureau to be known as the Office for Central Planning and Development, O.C.P.D. In order that the O.C.P.D. could make decisions about, and make provision for future development, the class was charged with undertaking research into the present structure which would inform planning proposals to be submitted to the bureau.
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    Cape Town residential patterns : an examination of natural processes in housing and of the distortion of these natural patterns, all with special reference to Cape Town
    (1970) Ehlers, Frederick Greeff
    The study which follows is concerned with the housing of people within cities, and special reference is made to Metropolitan Cape Town in this context.The object of the study was to isolate certain principles relating to housing, formulating these in such a way that they might , in being tested , yield results useful to City Planners. (*1) Having established such principles, a further purpose of the study was to contrast these against other factors influencing housing such as Town Planning and Legislative Controls, and the effect the latter had upon the former. The principles which were the initial concern of the study originated in the Life Sciences (*2) and the Human Sciences (*3). Although the author cannot claim authority in any of these Sciences, the principles borrowed from them are well known , and served the valuable purpose of permitting a field theory to be constructed. Hypotheses , developed from this field theory, were tested and in so doing yielded some surprising and gratifying results. These results may be found on the pages following , and it will be seen that they appear to justify the method of approach .
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    Code-Switching among Bilingual Speakers of Cape Muslim Afrikaans and South African English in the Bo-Kaap, Cape Town
    (2020) Cozien, Christine; Mesthrie, Rajend
    The Bo-Kaap is traditionally a Cape Muslim Afrikaans-speaking community, and sociohistorically it is particularly relevant to the development of Afrikaans at the Cape (Davids 2011, Mahida 1993). The Cape Muslim Afrikaans spoken in the Bo-Kaap is a sub-variety of Standard Afrikaans (Kotzé 1989, Davids 2011) and is distinguishable by its retained lexis (Mesthrie and Bhatt 2008) from languages historically spoken by slaves at the Cape, such as Malay, Arabic, Gujarati, and Konkani. Over time a number of socio-cultural, geographic, and historical factors have introduced the use of South African English alongside Cape Muslim Afrikaans in this speech community. The goal of this study was to provide insight into the nature of bilingual talk in the Bo-Kaap community, and to make a useful contribution to the growing body of codeswitching1 (hereafter CS) research generally. Based on natural language data collected during group interviews with members of the community, the study explored the language contact situation in the Bo-Kaap today, taking the viewpoint that what is occurring presently may be considered CS Three aspects of the CS documented were analysed and quantified. Specifically, the study investigated language interaction phenomena (Myers-Scotton 1995, Deuchar et al 2007) triggers (Clyne 1987) and directionality (Muysken 1997, Deuchar et al 2017, Çetinoglu 2017). A quantitative approach was taken to the data analysis. The interview audio files were downloaded and transcribed in ELAN. (Max Planck Institute). The annotations2 produced in ELAN were organised in a spreadsheet for analysis, resulting in a data set comprised of 356 annotations. The full data set was divided into subsets and tagged for language interaction phenomena, triggers, and directionality. These data sets were then sorted and quantified to identify trends in these three areas of interest. The study found Intra-sentential switches to be the most common type of language interaction phenomenon in the CS of this speech community, being present in 79% of the sampled annotations. Results from other CS studies echo this finding in other speech communities (Al Heeti et al 2016, Koban 2012, Falk 2013). The most common trigger for Intra-word switching in this corpus was in the head of the past tense Verb Phrase. Out of 27 occurrences of Intra-word switching, 16 were of this nature. In all of those an English verb head was housed within an Afrikaans past tense structure. No exceptions were observed in the data set, a strong indicator of the relationship status of the two languages involved. Cape Muslim Afrikaans almost certainly playing the role of the Matrix language, with South African English embedded. In terms of directionality, switching from Cape Muslim Afrikaans into South African English was by far the most common, at 85%. This further supports what the findings on triggers suggest about the hierarchy between these two languages.
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    Concurrent sexual partnerships and sexually transmitted diseases among African men in Cape Town, South Africa
    (Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, 2015-05-28) Maughan-Brown, Brendan
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    Consultation outcomes for musculoskeletal conditions at two community health centres in Cape Town
    (South African Academy of Family Physicians, 2013) Namane, M K; Kalla, A A; Young, T N
    Objectives: To compare the proportion of patients with documented diagnoses and management plans when they presented with musculoskeletal complaints at two community health centres (CHCs) using two models of care: one with a rheumatology outreach service and the other with none. Secondly, to describe the profile of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who attended the CHC with the outreach service. Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: Heidelberg Community Health Centre and Vanguard Community Health Centre, Cape Town. Subjects: A group of 59 patients at each CHC were compared regarding engagement of their musculoskeletal complaints by doctors and clinical nurse practitioners (CNPs). Secondly, 24 RA patients who attended Heideveld CHC were profiled. Results: A comparison of the “overall engagement” between the two CHCs [risk difference (RD) -0.06, 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.17–0.05, odds ratio (OR) 0.79, 95% CI: 0.51–1.24, chi-square 0.82, p-value 0.36] was not significantly different. Comparison between doctors (RD -0.05, 95% CI: -0.05–0.08, OR 0.80, 95% CI: 0.46–1.40, chi-square 0.41, p-value 0.52) was also not significantly different. The comparison between the CNPs at the two CHCs was statistically significant (RD 0.30, 95% CI: 0.14–0.45, OR 8.37, 95% CI: 1.05–66.60, Fisher's exact test 0.01), but the CI around OR was large. Patients with RA had a mean age of 60 years, an average of two co-morbidities and an average of three annual clinic visits. Eighty- three per cent resided in the drainage area of the clinic. Conclusion: There was no significant difference in engagement between the CHCs. The potential that CNPs seemed to show of being positively influenced by the outreach service should be further researched. Patients with RA had co- morbidities that required management at primary healthcare level.
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    The Current State and Characteristics of Cape Town's Smart City Development
    (Urban Real Estate Research Unit, 2019-09) Boyle, Luke
    In today’s urban environment, local governments have to deal with increasingly complex mandates, social inequalities and economic growth in a context of increasing environmental and economic uncertainty (Baud et al., 2014). In Africa, these complexities are exacerbated by rapid urbanisation and the subsequent proliferation of urban poverty. This necessitates more efficient and effective management and governance of urban systems (Slavova & Okwechime, 2016; Meijer & Thaens, 2018). Given the increased role of ICT and its potential to advance the management and coordination of cities, contribute to their economic success, and improve the quality of life of its residents (Backhouse, 2015), many African cities are beginning to explore smart city interventions as a means of overcoming the rising challenges of urban development and sustainability. This report series seeks to explore the grounding of smart city concepts within an African context through an exploration of the City of Cape Town's smart city initiatives. The second report uses the analysis of the Digital City Strategy to develop an understanding of where the City of Cape Town currently is in terms of its smart city development, and the characteristics that have defined the advancement of the City’s smart city ambitions to date. Following that, the report discusses how the current state and characteristics relate to the Digital City Strategy outlined in the first report before providing some insight into what this reveals about the City’s approach to smart city development.
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    Development of context-sensitive accessibility indicators: a GIS-based modelling approach for Cape Town
    (2019) Aivinhenyo, Imuentinyan; Zuidgeest, Mark
    Adequate public transport infrastructure and services are essential to facilitate access to basic opportunities, such as jobs, healthcare, education, recreation or shopping, especially in low-income cities where the majority of the low-income population have no access to the car. In the context of transport exclusion and urban poverty, access and accessibility metrics can serve as good indicators for the identification of transport-disadvantaged zones or population groups in a city. In Cape Town, accessibility-based planning is being embraced by the authority as a means of addressing the planning defects of the past apartheid regime, which created a city that is spatially fragmented by race and income levels. Among the agenda outlined in its 5-year Integrated Transport Plan of 2013-2018, is the need to develop a highly integrated public transport network in which all households would have equitable access to the public transport system, especially for the majority of the urban poor who reside in the city outskirts far from major economic centres. Although planning efforts are being made to redeem the defects of the past, there is still the need for tools and indicators to understand the current situation, as well as to further aid planning and decision making about land-use and transport. The objective of this research, therefore, is to develop suitable indicators of accessibility, identify possible spatial and socioeconomic drivers of accessibility and evaluate equity in the distribution of accessibility benefits for various population groups in Cape Town. In the study, transport network data of Cape Town are utilised to develop GIS-based indicators of network access and origin accessibility to various opportunities like jobs, healthcare and education, across various modes of travel. An Access Index measures public transport service presence within a zone, based on route and stops availability. The index is used to compare the coverage levels provided by each mode of public transport in the city. Also, an Accessibility Index is proposed, that measures the number of opportunities 'potentially reachable' within a specified 'reasonable’ travel time. A key consideration in measuring accessibility by public transport is the monetary cost of overcoming distance, based on the pricing structure that exists in Cape Town. Equity in accessibility is further evaluated both vertically and horizontally. Vertical equity is evaluated using a proposed Accessibility Loss Index, which analyses the potential implication of affordability and budget restrictions on accessibility, based on the income level of the poor households. GINI type of measures is also proposed to evaluate horizontal equity across the various population groups for various travel modes. To further understand the likely drivers of accessibility, an exploratory OLS regression technique is employed to investigate the relationship between accessibility and a combination of socioeconomic and built environment features of the study area. The study reveals among other things that potential accessibility achievable by car is far higher than that achievable by public transport. The paratransit mode provides the most extensive access coverage, and the highest level of accessibility among all the public transport modes investigated. However, this mode shows to be one of the most expensive options of travel, especially for low-income households who are likely to be restricted by travel monetary budgets. The train turns out to be the most affordable travel option, although the level of accessibility achievable with the train is much lower compared to the paratransit or regular bus. From a vertical equity perspective, the consideration of transport affordability drastically reduces the opportunity space and potential accessibility for the poorest population group compared to the higher income groups. The study further interrogates the distance-based tariff model of public transport services in Cape Town, which it considered to be detrimental to the welfare of poor households, regarding the potential to access essential opportunities. The contribution of this study to the body of research on accessibility is twofold: methodological and contextual. On the methodological dimension, it presents a GIS based approach of modelling accessibility both for the car and for a multimodal public transport system that combines four modes; bus, train, BRT and a minibus taxi (paratransit). It also builds on existing gravity-based potential accessibility measure by incorporating an affordability dimension. The consideration of affordability adds a further layer that enables vertical equity evaluation by judging the potential for destination reachability by the monetary out-of-pocket cost of travel. This approach is considered to be more sensitive to the context of low-income cities like Cape Town, where low-income household’s daily travel decisions are likely to be more guided by monetary cost.
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    Diagnostic utility of pericardial fluid pH in diagnosing infectious pericardial effusions among patients with moderate and large effusions undergoing pericardiocentesis at Groote Schuur Hospital: a subs-study of the IMPI trial
    (2020) Kiggundu, Brian; Ntsekhe, Mpiko
    Diagnosis of infectious pericardial disease has been challenging in the developing world despite improvement of treatment modalities. The diagnostic utility of pH in diagnosing infectious pericardial fluid is unknown, yet this concept is well studied in pleural fluid. This cross-sectional diagnostic study evaluated the diagnostic utility of pH in infectious compared to non-infectious pericardial effusions in a high-burden setting. Methods: Patients of 18 years with moderate to large effusion between the 1st February 2016 and 31st May2018 were enrolled at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. After safe pericardiocentesis, pH was measured with a blood gas analyzer. Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture and/or gene Xpert for TB and/or bacteria culture and/or microscopy served as the reference standard for definite infectious pericardial effusions. We calculated sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, negative and positive likelihood ratios for an a priori pH cut off of 7.35. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used for selection of ideal pH cut off. RESULTS Using a set sensitivity of 70% we estimated that we needed to recruit a sample size of 149 subjects for a 95% confidence interval and power of 80%. We screened 200 patients, and excluded 60 because they did not meet the appropriate exclusion criteria. The prevalence of infectious pericarditis was 27.1% (n/N=34/140) as confirmed by the reference standard. We found the median pH (IQR) was 7.30(7.20-7.30) for definite infection, 7.30(7.30-7.35) for probable infection and 7.50(7.40-7.55) for non-infectious effusions p value <0.01 (test for trend). At a cut off or <7.35, the sensitivity was 89.5(95%CI: 75%.5-97.1%) and the specificity was 72.5% (95% CI: 62.8%-80.9%). The ideal ROC- determined cut off for pH that would give maximum sensitivity and specificity was ≤7.30 and the maximum sensitivity and specificity at optimum cut off are 86.8% (95% CI:71.9 - 95.6) and 86.8% (95% CI:71.9 - 95.6), respectively. The area under the curve at this cut-off point is 0.86 (95% CI 0.79 to 0.9), p<0. 001. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, pericardial PH offers diagnostic utility for infectious causes of pericardial effusions using both a PH of 7.35 and an ideal cut-off of 7.30. We recommend that given the simplicity of the test it should be adopted in evaluation of patients with pericardial effusions.
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    Die ES
    (2013) Sanya, Tom
    An interactive educational product exploring Fagan's understanding of combining design and technology into a single, non-linear, diverse and interesting problem-solving methodology.