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Review
. 2017 Jun 21;1(1):e000014.
doi: 10.1136/bmjpo-2017-000014. eCollection 2017.

Setting up and running a paediatric emergency department in a hospital in Malawi: 15 years on

Elizabeth M Molyneux  1 , Josephine Langton  1 , Jenala Njiram'madzi  1 , Ann M Robertson  2
Affiliations
Review

Setting up and running a paediatric emergency department in a hospital in Malawi: 15 years on

Elizabeth M Molyneux et al. BMJ Paediatr Open. .

Abstract

Paediatric emergency care is not recognised as a specialty in many countries in Africa but is being practised increasingly. Setting up a paediatric emergency care unit takes time and often involves trial and error. Here we describe the start of the paediatric emergency department in Blantyre, Malawi, a low-income country and how it has continued to evolve over 15 years, in the hope that our experience will inform and assist others who are already developing their own emergency unit or wishing to do so.

Keywords: Accident & Emergency; Tropical Paediatrics.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) Old floor plan of the Under Fives Clinic (pre-2001). (B) Present floor plan of the emergency department. ORS, oral rehydration solution. MP, malaria parasites; PCV, blood tested for malaria parasites and packed cell volume; WC, toilet.
Figure 2a
Figure 2a
Admission sheet and Critical Care Pathway for inpatients in the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital.R/NR/E/U, Reactive; Non Reactive, Exposed/Unexposed. RDT/PCR, Rapid Diagnostic Test /Polymerase chain reaction; COT, cotrimoxazole; ART, antiretroviral therapy,;PMTCT, Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission; BP, blood pressure, CRT, capillary refill time; PR, pulse rate; CSF, cerebral spinal fluid; RR, resiratory rate; DOB, date of birth; QECH, Queen Elizabeth Cnetral Hospital, CCP, critical care pathway.
Figure 2b
Figure 2b
Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital Admission and Monitoring Sheet.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Admissions, attendances and activities in the emergency department. ETAT, emergency triage assessment and treatment.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The number of children with malaria attending the emergency department, 2000–2016.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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