The aim of this study was to investigate S. aureus carriage among children with sickle cell disease (SCD), including the prevalence, risk factors, and antibiotic resistance. The study was cross-sectional, and involved 120 children with SCD recruited at the Princess Marie Louise Children’s Hospital (PML) in Accra and 100 apparently healthy children from environs of the hospital. Nasal swab samples were collected from the study participants and cultured for bacteria. Confirmation of S. aureus and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates were done using the tube coagulase test and mecA polymerase chain reaction, respectively. All the S. aureus isolates were tested against standard antimicrobial agents using the Kirby-Bauer method. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain the socio-demographic and clinical data of the study participants. Binary logistic regression was used to identify determinants of S. aureus and MRSA carriage among the study participants. The nasal carriage prevalence of S. aureus was 33.3% (n = 40) and 10% (n = 10) among the participants of the SCD and control groups, respectively. As regards MRSA nasal carriage prevalence, the respective values were 3.33% (n = 4) and 0.00% (n = 0). SCD was significantly associated with S. aureus colonization (p < 0.0001, OR = 4.045), but not MRSA colonization (p = 0.128). In the SCD group, the significant predictors of S. aureus carriage were increasing age (p = 0.003; OR = 1.275) and living in self-contained apartments (p = 0.033; OR = 3.632), whereas male gender (p = 0.018; OR = 0.344) and the practice of self-medication (p = 0.039; OR = 0.233) were protective of S. aureus carriage. In the control group, a history of hospitalization in the past year was a risk factor for the carriage of S. aureus (p = 0.048; OR = 14.333). Among the participants of the SCD and control groups, respectively, the resistance prevalence recorded by S. aureus against the various antibiotics investigated were penicillin (100% each), cotrimoxazole (27.5% vs. 20%), tetracycline (25% vs. 50%), rifampicin (82.5% vs. 50%), erythromycin (30% vs. 20%), clindamycin (32.5% vs. 50%), gentamicin (7.5% vs. 20%), cefoxitin (27.5% vs. 20%), linezolid (30% vs. 40%), and fusidic acid (95% vs. 80%). The proportion of S. aureus isolates that were multidrug resistant (MDR) was 92.5% (37/40) in the SCD group and 100% (10/10) in the control group.

BackgroundMillions of children under the age of 5 years die every year. Some of these deaths occur in hospitals and are related to both clinical characteristics and modifiable risk factors. This study investigates the association between malnutrition and mortality and profiles the presenting features in a case-control study of children under 5 years of age who attended Princess Marie Louise Children’s Hospital (PML) in 2011.MethodsA total of 120 cases of children under the age of 5 years who were admitted to hospital and died there were matched by sex and age to 120 controls who were children who survived on 1:1 basis from a record of patients admitted to PML in 2011. Data on socio-demographic and clinical characteristics were extracted from the medical records of the study participants. The association between malnutrition and mortality was determined by conditional logistic regression reported as odds ratios (OR) and their 95 % confidence interval (95 % CI). P < 0.05 was considered significant in all analyses.ResultsMalnutrition was significantly associated with mortality in children under-5 years of age attending PML. In the adjusted analysis, the odds of dying was significantly higher in malnourished children compared with well-nourished children (adjusted OR = 4.32 [95 % CI, 1.33–13.92], p = 0.014]). In addition, a previous episode of diarrhoea within the last year was associated with mortality (adjusted OR = 7.25 [95 % CI, 1.68–31.22], p = 0.008). The proportion of patients with noisy or difficulty breathing, pallor, lethargic appearance, ill-looking appearance, febrile convulsion, altered sensorium, skin lesions, hepatomegaly or oedema was significantly higher among cases than in controls (p < 0.05).ConclusionsMalnutrition and a previous episode of diarrhoea within the last year were the main risk factors for mortality. Efforts to prevent malnutrition and diarrhoea must be intensified and a protocol to follow-up diarrhoea patients may be beneficial. Six out of the nine clinical features that were proportionally higher in children who died than those who survived, are captured by the Emergency Triage Assessment and Treatment (ETAT) screening protocol as emergency or priority signs, giving credence to the use of ETAT in this setting. Thus education of health professionals on the use of the tool to triage patients should be on-going. However, further studies are needed to establish whether the other clinical signs are consistently associated with mortality and if so, whether they can be included among triage criteria, danger signs or in a prognostic scoring system for this setting.

Kawasaki disease, an acute febrile vasculitis, predominantly affects children under the age of 5 years and is thought to be a rare disease in the developing world. It has previously never been reported in Ghana. We report 3 cases from February, 2007 to February, 2008. This potentially serious disease has no definitive diagnostic test and it is not unusual for diagnosis to be delayed with serious consequences. Any child with irritability and persisting fever (>5 days) not responding to antipyretics and antibiotics, accompanied by a rash and non purulent conjunctivitis should be suspected to have Kawasaki disease.

Introduction: Infants are at risk of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) colonization and infection. The aim of this study was to investigate S. aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) colonization among infants, including the prevalence, predictors of colonization, and antibiogram. Methodology: The study was cross-sectional, and involved infants aged less than one year recruited at the Princess Marie Louise Children’s Hospital in Accra, Ghana. Sociodemographic and clinical data of the participants were gathered with a structured questionnaire. Nasal swabs were also obtained from them and bacteriologically cultured. S. aureus was confirmed with the coagulase test, and MRSA was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of the mecA gene. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of S. aureus was done using the Kirby-Bauer method. Results: The carriage prevalence of S. aureus and MRSA were 34.9% (45/129) and 17.10% (22/129), respectively. Colonization with coagulase-negative Staphylococci (CoNS) was protective of both S. aureus (OR = 0.008; p < 0.001) and MRSA (OR = 0.052; p = 0.005) carriage. Maintenance of good hand hygiene prevented S. aureus carriage (OR = 0.16; p < 0.001). S. aureus resistance to antibiotics decreased across penicillin (96%), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (61%), tetracycline (61%), erythromycin (39%), gentamicin (39%), fusidic acid (26%), rifampicin (17%), clindamycin (7%), and linezolid (0%); 68.8% S. aureus were multidrug resistant. Conclusions: S. aureus and MRSA prevalence were high among the infants. Colonization with CoNS and good hand hygiene maintenance were predictive of MRSA and methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) colonization, respectively.

Objectives: The objectives of the study were to describe outcomes of children with uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition (SAM) attending community-based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) treatment centres in Accra Metropolitan Area (AMA) and explore factors associated with non-adherence to clinic visits and defaulting from the treatment programme. Design: A retrospective cohort study analysing routinely collected data on children with uncomplicated SAM enrolled into CMAM in 2017 was conducted. Setting: Study was conducted at seven sites comprising Princess Marie Louise Children’s Hospital, three sub-metropolitan health facilities and three community centres, located in five sub-metropolitan areas in AMA. Participants: Children with uncomplicated SAM aged 6–59 months, enrolled from community-level facilities (pure uncomplicated SAM, PUSAM) or transferred after completing inpatient care (post-stabilisation uncomplicated SAM, PSSAM), participated in the study. Results: Out of 174 cases studied (105 PUSAM, sixty-nine PSSAM), 56·3 % defaulted, 34·5 % recovered and 8·6 % were not cured by 16 weeks. No deaths were recorded. Mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) increased by 2·2 (95 % CI 1·8, 2·5) mm/week with full compliance and 0·9 (95 % CI 0·6, 1·2) mm/week with more than two missed visits. In breast-feeding children, MUAC increased at a slower rate than in other children by 1·3 (95 % CI 1·0, 1·5) mm/week. Independent predictors of subsequent missed visits were diarrhoea and fever, while children with MUAC < 110 mm on enrolment were at increased risk of defaulting. Conclusion: A high default rate and a long time to recovery are challenges for CMAM in AMA. Efforts must be made to improve adherence to treatment to improve outcomes.