Morbidity and Mortality following Traditional Uvulectomy among Children Presenting to the Muhimbili National Hospital Emergency Department in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Background. Traditional uvulectomy is performed as a cultural ritual or purported medical remedy. We describe the associated emergency department (ED) presentations and outcomes. Methods. This was a subgroup analysis of a retrospective review of all pediatric visits to our ED in 2012. Trained abstra...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2015-01-01
|
| Series: | Emergency Medicine International |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/108247 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850171676046655488 |
|---|---|
| author | H. R. Sawe J. A. Mfinanga F. H. Ringo V. Mwafongo T. A. Reynolds M. S. Runyon |
| author_facet | H. R. Sawe J. A. Mfinanga F. H. Ringo V. Mwafongo T. A. Reynolds M. S. Runyon |
| author_sort | H. R. Sawe |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background. Traditional uvulectomy is performed as a cultural ritual or purported medical remedy. We describe the associated emergency department (ED) presentations and outcomes. Methods. This was a subgroup analysis of a retrospective review of all pediatric visits to our ED in 2012. Trained abstracters recorded demographics, clinical presentations, and outcomes. Results. Complete data were available for 5540/5774 (96%) visits and 56 (1.0%, 95% CI: 0.7–1.3%) were related to recent uvulectomy, median age 1.3 years (interquartile range: 7 months–2 years) and 30 (54%) were male. Presenting complaints included cough (82%), fever (46%), and hematemesis (38%). Clinical findings included fever (54%), tachypnea (30%), and tachycardia (25%). 35 patients (63%, 95% CI: 49–75%) received intravenous antibiotics, 11 (20%, 95% CI: 10–32%) required blood transfusion, and 3 (5%, 95% CI: 1–15%) had surgical intervention. All were admitted to the hospital and 12 (21%, 95% CI: 12–34%) died. By comparison, 498 (9.1%, 95% CI: 8–10%) of the 5484 children presenting for reasons unrelated to uvulectomy died (p=0.003). Conclusion. In our cohort, traditional uvulectomy was associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Emergency care providers should advocate for legal and public health interventions to eliminate this dangerous practice. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9a423eaee7304558b711507c355392fb |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2090-2840 2090-2859 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2015-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Emergency Medicine International |
| spelling | doaj-art-9a423eaee7304558b711507c355392fb2025-08-20T02:20:13ZengWileyEmergency Medicine International2090-28402090-28592015-01-01201510.1155/2015/108247108247Morbidity and Mortality following Traditional Uvulectomy among Children Presenting to the Muhimbili National Hospital Emergency Department in Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaH. R. Sawe0J. A. Mfinanga1F. H. Ringo2V. Mwafongo3T. A. Reynolds4M. S. Runyon5Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaMuhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaMuhimbili National Hospital, Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaMuhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaMuhimbili National Hospital, Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaMuhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaBackground. Traditional uvulectomy is performed as a cultural ritual or purported medical remedy. We describe the associated emergency department (ED) presentations and outcomes. Methods. This was a subgroup analysis of a retrospective review of all pediatric visits to our ED in 2012. Trained abstracters recorded demographics, clinical presentations, and outcomes. Results. Complete data were available for 5540/5774 (96%) visits and 56 (1.0%, 95% CI: 0.7–1.3%) were related to recent uvulectomy, median age 1.3 years (interquartile range: 7 months–2 years) and 30 (54%) were male. Presenting complaints included cough (82%), fever (46%), and hematemesis (38%). Clinical findings included fever (54%), tachypnea (30%), and tachycardia (25%). 35 patients (63%, 95% CI: 49–75%) received intravenous antibiotics, 11 (20%, 95% CI: 10–32%) required blood transfusion, and 3 (5%, 95% CI: 1–15%) had surgical intervention. All were admitted to the hospital and 12 (21%, 95% CI: 12–34%) died. By comparison, 498 (9.1%, 95% CI: 8–10%) of the 5484 children presenting for reasons unrelated to uvulectomy died (p=0.003). Conclusion. In our cohort, traditional uvulectomy was associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Emergency care providers should advocate for legal and public health interventions to eliminate this dangerous practice.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/108247 |
| spellingShingle | H. R. Sawe J. A. Mfinanga F. H. Ringo V. Mwafongo T. A. Reynolds M. S. Runyon Morbidity and Mortality following Traditional Uvulectomy among Children Presenting to the Muhimbili National Hospital Emergency Department in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Emergency Medicine International |
| title | Morbidity and Mortality following Traditional Uvulectomy among Children Presenting to the Muhimbili National Hospital Emergency Department in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania |
| title_full | Morbidity and Mortality following Traditional Uvulectomy among Children Presenting to the Muhimbili National Hospital Emergency Department in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania |
| title_fullStr | Morbidity and Mortality following Traditional Uvulectomy among Children Presenting to the Muhimbili National Hospital Emergency Department in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania |
| title_full_unstemmed | Morbidity and Mortality following Traditional Uvulectomy among Children Presenting to the Muhimbili National Hospital Emergency Department in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania |
| title_short | Morbidity and Mortality following Traditional Uvulectomy among Children Presenting to the Muhimbili National Hospital Emergency Department in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania |
| title_sort | morbidity and mortality following traditional uvulectomy among children presenting to the muhimbili national hospital emergency department in dar es salaam tanzania |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/108247 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hrsawe morbidityandmortalityfollowingtraditionaluvulectomyamongchildrenpresentingtothemuhimbilinationalhospitalemergencydepartmentindaressalaamtanzania AT jamfinanga morbidityandmortalityfollowingtraditionaluvulectomyamongchildrenpresentingtothemuhimbilinationalhospitalemergencydepartmentindaressalaamtanzania AT fhringo morbidityandmortalityfollowingtraditionaluvulectomyamongchildrenpresentingtothemuhimbilinationalhospitalemergencydepartmentindaressalaamtanzania AT vmwafongo morbidityandmortalityfollowingtraditionaluvulectomyamongchildrenpresentingtothemuhimbilinationalhospitalemergencydepartmentindaressalaamtanzania AT tareynolds morbidityandmortalityfollowingtraditionaluvulectomyamongchildrenpresentingtothemuhimbilinationalhospitalemergencydepartmentindaressalaamtanzania AT msrunyon morbidityandmortalityfollowingtraditionaluvulectomyamongchildrenpresentingtothemuhimbilinationalhospitalemergencydepartmentindaressalaamtanzania |