Katijah Khoza-Shangase, Emma Rifkind Romi
Box 57, University of the Witwatersrand, WITS 2050.
Afr J Infect Dis. 2010;4(2):51-60.
The purpose of this study was to establish audiology referral protocols for post meningitis paediatric populations in two academic hospitals in Gauteng, South Africa. Specific objectives of this study included determining if audiological assessment referrals were made following infection; determining the time of referral post meningitis diagnosis; establishing what audiological assessments were conducted on this population, as well as determining any correlations between signs and symptoms of meningitis and referrals for audiology assessments. Medical records of 47 children admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of meningitis between the ages of birth and 6 years were reviewed following a retrospective record review design. Data relevant to the current study were obtained from hospital records and this was captured in a data spreadsheet. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were implemented in analysis of the data. Inferential statistics in the form of logistic regression analysis was used to establish any significant factor that may predict referral for audiological assessment. The findings indicated that almost half (40%) of the cases were not referred for audiological services. Of those cases referred for assessment, 89% were referred as in-patients before hospital discharge, with minimal referrals occurring after discharge from hospital. Screening, rather than diagnostic audiology measures were conducted on a majority of the cases. Logistic regression analysis identified fever as the only predictor variable (p<0.01) for audiological assessment referral. Results from this study highlight the need for the establishment of audiology referral protocols for paediatric meningitis populations to ensure that early identification and early intervention occurs.
本研究的目的是为南非豪登省两家学术医院的脑膜炎后儿科人群制定听力转诊方案。本研究的具体目标包括确定感染后是否进行了听力评估转诊;确定脑膜炎诊断后的转诊时间;确定对该人群进行了哪些听力评估,以及确定脑膜炎的体征和症状与听力评估转诊之间的任何相关性。采用回顾性病历审查设计,对47名年龄在出生至6岁之间、因脑膜炎诊断入院的儿童的病历进行了审查。与本研究相关的数据从医院记录中获取,并记录在数据电子表格中。在数据分析中采用了描述性统计和推断性统计。采用逻辑回归分析形式的推断性统计来确定可能预测听力评估转诊的任何重要因素。研究结果表明,几乎一半(40%)的病例未被转诊接受听力服务。在那些被转诊进行评估的病例中,89%是在出院前作为住院患者被转诊的,出院后转诊的情况很少。大多数病例进行的是筛查,而不是诊断性听力测量。逻辑回归分析确定发热是听力评估转诊的唯一预测变量(p<0.01)。本研究结果强调了为儿科脑膜炎人群建立听力转诊方案的必要性,以确保早期识别和早期干预的发生。