Star Khoza

Profiles of blood and blood component transfusion recipients in Zimbabwe

BACKGROUND There are limited published data on the characteristics of blood transfusion recipients in sub-Saharan Africa. This study describes the demographic characteristics of blood transfusion recipients and patterns of blood and blood component use in Zimbabwe. MATERIALS AND METHODS Data on the characteristics of the blood transfusion recipients (age, sex, blood group), blood components received (type, quantity), discharge diagnoses and outcomes following transfusion (discharge status, duration of stay in hospital), were retrospectively collected from four major hospitals for the period from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012. Diagnoses were grouped into broad categories according to the disease headings of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). Surgical procedures were grouped into broad categories according to organ system using ICD-9. RESULTS Most of the 1,793 transfusion recipients studied were female (63.2%) and in the reproductive age group, i.e. 15-49 years (65.3%). The median age of the recipients was 33 years (range, 0-93). The majority of these recipients (n=1,642; 91.6%) received a red blood cell transfusion. The majority of the patients were diagnosed with conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth (22.3%), and diseases of blood and blood-forming organs (17.7%). The median time spent in hospital was 8 days (range, 0-214) and in-hospital mortality was 15.4%. DISCUSSION Our sample of blood transfusion recipients were fairly young and most of them received red blood cell transfusions. The majority of patients in the reproductive age group received blood transfusions for pregnancy and childbirth-related diagnoses.

The costs of producing a unit of blood in Zimbabwe

There is lack of published data on the costs of blood and blood transfusion in sub‐Saharan Africa. This study aimed to assess the unit costs of producing blood in Zimbabwe using an activity‐based costing (ABC) method.

Health-related quality of life in HIV/AIDS patients on antiretroviral therapy at a tertiary care facility in Zimbabwe

ABSTRACT Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is a broad concept reflecting a patient’s general subjective perception of the effect of an illness or intervention on physical, psychological and social aspects of their daily life. HRQoL among patients infected with HIV has become an important indicator of impact of disease and treatment outcomes. A cross-sectional survey was carried out at Chitungwiza Central Hospital, Zimbabwe, to assess HRQoL in patients with HIV/AIDS receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART), using two validated instruments. The HIV/AIDS-targeted quality of life (HAT-QoL) and EuroQoL Five-dimensions-Three-level (EQ-5D-3L) instruments were used to assess HRQoL. Internal consistency reliability and convergent validity of the two instruments were also evaluated. For construct validity, the relationships between HRQoL scores and socio-economic and HIV/AIDS-related characteristics were explored. The median scores for the HAT-QoL dimensions ranged from 33.3 (financial worries) to 100 (HIV mastery). A considerably low HAT-QoL dimension score of 50.0 was observed for sexual function. There were ceiling effects for all HAT-QoL dimension scores except for financial worries and disclosure worries. Floor effects were observed for financial worries and sexual function. The median of the EQ-5D-3L index and visual analogue scale (VAS) was 0.81 and 79.0, respectively. There were no floor or ceiling effects for both the EQ-5D-3L index and VAS. The overall scale Cronbach’s alpha was 0.83 for HAT-Qol and 0.67 for EQ-5D-3L. HAT-QoL demonstrated good convergent validity with EQ-5D index (0.58) and VAS (0.40). A higher level of HRQoL was positively and significantly related to income, education and employment. The patients’ self-reported HRQoL was generally satisfactory in all the HAT-QoL dimensions as well as the two components on the EQ-5D-3L instrument. The two instruments demonstrated good measurement properties in HIV/AIDS patients receiving ART and have potential for use, alongside biomarkers, in monitoring outcomes of interventions.

Retraction Note: Use of antidepressants and the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus: a nested case–control study

The International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy has been alerted to a case of duplicate publication in the following papers. Int J Clin Pharm. 2012 Jun;34(3):432-8. Epub 2012 Jan 18. Use of antidepressants and the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus: a nested case–control study. Khoza S, Barner JC, Bohman TM, Rascati K, Lawson K, Wilson JP. Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 2011 Nov 26. [Epub ahead of print]. Use of antidepressant agents and the risk of type 2 diabetes. Khoza S, Barner JC, Bohman TM, Rascati K, Lawson K, Wilson JP. The International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy is retracting the paper. We sincerely apologize to the scientific community for any inconvenience that this might have caused.

Cost effectiveness of adding nucleic acid testing to hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and human immunodeficiency virus screening of blood donations in Zimbabwe.

The aim of this study was to assess the cost effectiveness of introducing individual‐donation nucleic acid testing (ID‐NAT), in addition to serologic tests, compared with the exclusive use of serologic tests for the identification of hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) I and II among blood donors in Zimbabwe.