Browsing by Author "Munthali, Leonard"

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    An audit of the clinical cases and outcomes on patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) at Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH), Lilongwe, Malawi
    (Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, 2020-09-16) Munthali, Leonard; Napolo, Upile; Bwanali, Akim
    Since its introduction, in the 1950's critical care medicine has significantly improved the quality of care and outcomes of the critically ill [1] However, the same cannot be said of the developing countries; lack of financial resources, equipment and well trained staff has limited its impact especially in Sub Saharan Africa. [2,3]. This deems as a problem as the demand for critical care medicine increases due to the rise in population coupled with the rise in incidence of critical illnesses. Multiple studies have shown inefficiencies in ICUs within the developing countries with alarming mortality rates. However, only few studies have been done in Malawi. Methods A quantitative retrospective cohort study at Kamuzu Central Hospital, ICU. That will be Looking at the clinical cases and treatment outcomes of patients admitted to the ICU spanning from 1stJanuary to 31st December 2019. Participants will be selected by consecutive sampling method. Preliminary analysis of records, revealed that the ICU admits an average of 22 patients per month, thus we expect to a study about 264 participants. The study is expected to take place for no more than 6 weeks. All data will be entered into Microsoft excel and analysis will be done using Epi info. Expected findings It is expected that findings will help to understand patterns of admission and factors associated with mortality in the ICU. This will guide interventions aimed that reducing the mortality Problem statement. In low resource settings, such as ours, the allocation of ICU facilities is determined by perceived patient outcome. It is up to the physician to decide if the patient is too sick or not sick enough to be admitted to the ICU. This often results in the admission of patients with a poor prognosis while other patients with a better chance of survival are unable to access the care they need and deserve. Previous studies have shown that the mortality rate of patients that are admitted to the ICU is high. In 201 2, a study was conducted at the KCH ICU, it showed a general mortality rate of 60.9 % with sepsis being the commonest cause of death. Finally, there has been limited published research on the resources and performance of the ICU. In fact, since the construction of the current ICU at the hospital, little to no research has been done. Therefore, we are unaware the ICU's efficiency.