Makerere University

About: Makerere University is a education organization based out in Kampala, Uganda. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The organization has 7220 authors who have published 12405 publications receiving 366520 citations. The organization is also known as: Makerere University Kampala & MUK.

Citywide trauma experience in Kampala, Uganda: a call for intervention

Abstract: Objectives: To describe injuries and their emergency care at five city hospitals. Setting: Data were collected between January and December 1998 from casualty departments of the five largest hospitals of Kampala city, Uganda, with bed capacity ranging from 60 to 1200. Methods: Registry forms were completed on trauma patients. All patients with injuries were eligible. Outcome at two weeks was determined for admitted patients. Results: Of the 4359 injury patients, 73% were males. Their mean age was 24.2 years, range 0.1–89, and a 5–95 centile of 5–50 years. Patients with injuries were 7% of all patients seen. Traffic crashes caused 50% of injuries, and were the leading cause for patients ≥10 years. Fifty eight per cent of injuries occurred on the road, 29% at home, and 4% in a public building. Falls, assaults, and burns were the main causes in homes. Fourteen per cent of injuries were intentional. Injuries were severe in 24% as determined with the Kampala trauma score. One third of patients were admitted; two thirds arrived at the hospital within 30 minutes of injury, and 92% were attended within 20 minutes of arrival. Conclusions: Injuries in Kampala are an important public health problem, predominantly in young adult males, mostly due to traffic. The majority of injuries are unintentional. Hospital response is rapid, but the majority of injuries are minor. Without pre-hospital care, it is likely that patients with serious injuries die before they access care. Preventive measures and a pre-hospital emergency service are urgently needed.

My partner wants a child: a cross-sectional study of the determinants of the desire for children among mutually disclosed sero-discordant couples receiving care in Uganda.

Abstract: Background The percentages of couples in HIV sero-discordant relationships range from 5 to 31% in the various countries of Africa. Given the importance of procreation and the lack of assisted reproduction to avoid partner transmission, members of these couples are faced with a serious dilemma even after the challenge of disclosing their HIV status to their spouses. Identifying the determinants of the decision to have children among sero-discordant couples will help in setting reproductive intervention priorities in resource-poor countries.

Antimicrobials: a global alliance for optimizing their rational use in intra-abdominal infections (AGORA)

Abstract: Intra-abdominal infections (IAI) are an important cause of morbidity and are frequently associated with poor prognosis, particularly in high-risk patients. The cornerstones in the management of complicated IAIs are timely effective source control with appropriate antimicrobial therapy. Empiric antimicrobial therapy is important in the management of intra-abdominal infections and must be broad enough to cover all likely organisms because inappropriate initial antimicrobial therapy is associated with poor patient outcomes and the development of bacterial resistance. The overuse of antimicrobials is widely accepted as a major driver of some emerging infections (such as C. difficile), the selection of resistant pathogens in individual patients, and for the continued development of antimicrobial resistance globally. The growing emergence of multi-drug resistant organisms and the limited development of new agents available to counteract them have caused an impending crisis with alarming implications, especially with regards to Gram-negative bacteria. An international task force from 79 different countries has joined this project by sharing a document on the rational use of antimicrobials for patients with IAIs. The project has been termed AGORA (Antimicrobials: A Global Alliance for Optimizing their Rational Use in Intra-Abdominal Infections). The authors hope that AGORA, involving many of the world's leading experts, can actively raise awareness in health workers and can improve prescribing behavior in treating IAIs.

Soil Fertility Management in Africa: A Review of Selected Research Trials

Abstract: The increasing recognition of soil fertility depletion as the main biophysical factor limiting crop production in many African smallholder farms has raised interest in using data from past fertilizer studies to identify options for increasing agricultural production. This review of selected fertility research trials in sub-Saharan Africa reveals a pool of information (i) on the principles of fertilizer application for efficient nutrient use and (ii) on potential problems arising with continuous use of fertilizers in intensively cultivated systems. Adequate soil fertility for sustained crop yields can be obtained with combined use of mineral fertilizers and organic materials. Continuous use of N fertilizers can acidify soil, which then requires liming when organic inputs are limiting. Increased deficiencies of N, P, and other nutrients can be expected as a result of intensive cultivation and unbalanced fertilizer use. The use of mineral fertilizers by many smallholder farmers remains low because of socioeconomic constraints. This suggests that locally available organic materials will continue to be used as sources of nutrients. Future soil fertility trials should, therefore, particularly aim at identifying practices for judicious use of organic materials and their combination with mineral fertilizers. Shortcomings of past soil fertility research include limited economic analysis of results and use of trial sites and management that poorly represented those of smallholder farmers. Future research should strive for active participation of farmers, longer time frames to fully evaluate residual effects and rigorous economic analysis of results. Copyright © 1997 American Society of Agronomy and Soil Science Society of America, 677 S. Segoe Rd., Madison, WI53711, USA. Replenishing Soil Fertility in Africa. SSSA Special Publication no. 51.

Predictors of poor anthropometric status among children under 2 years of age in rural Uganda

Abstract: The objective was to assess predictors of poor anthropometric status among infants and young children. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting: The rural subsistence agricultural district of Hoima western Uganda. Subjects: Seven hundred and twenty children aged 0--23 months with their mothers/carers. Methods: Participants were recruited in September 2002 using a two-stage cluster sampling methodology. A structured questionnaire was administered to mothers in their home settings. Information on health household socio-economic status child feeding practices and anthropometric measurement was gathered. Conditional logistic regression analysis was applied taking into account the hierarchical relationships between potential determinants of poor anthropometric status. The mean Z-score for weight-for-height was 20.2 (95% confidence interval (CI) 20.1 20.7) for height-for-age was 21.1 (95% CI 21.2 20.9) and for weight-for-age was 20.7 (95% CI 20.8 20.6). Wasting was independently associated only with a history of fever in the 2 weeks prior to the survey (odds ratio (OR) = 4.4 95% CI 1.5 13) while underweight was associated with a history of fever (OR = 2.4 95% CI 1.3 4.4) and cough (OR = 3.0 95% CI 1.3 6.8). Stunting was positively associated with a wider range of factors including: history of a fever episode (OR = 1.7 95% CI 1.0 2.9) lack of a latrine in the household (OR = 2.7 95% CI 1.5 4.9) failure to deworm children 12 months or older (OR = 1.7 95% CI 1.1 2.8) and being born to a non-formally educated mother compared with mothers educated above primary school (OR = 2.1 95% CI 1.1 4.0). In analyses guided by the hierarchical interrelationships of potential determinants ofmalnutrition wasting and underweight turned out to be independently predicted by morbidity (proximal) factors. Stunting however was predicted by socioeconomic (distal) environmental and health-care (intermediate) factors in addition to morbidity. Strategies aimed at improving the growth of infants and young children in rural communities should address morbidity due to common childhood illness coupled with environmental and socio-economically oriented measures. (authors)