Bloodstream infections are frequent in children admitted to the hospital for severe febrile illness in sub-Saharan Africa.Ongoing blood culture surveillance at Kisantu Hospital showed non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) as the first cause of bloodstream infections in children. Bloodstream infections have a high case fatality (15 - 20%). Outcome of bloodstream infections is dependent on timely diagnosis and treatment. However, observations at Kisantu Hospital showed that many children arrive late and die early after admission. By interviewing caregivers of severely ill children admitted to Kisantu Hospital, the investigators aim to study their health itinerary, i.e. the sequence of all actions of health care seeking and care provision between the onset of febrile illness and the admission at the hospital. The investigators aim to assess the health itinerary according to the "three delays" model. The three delays model studies delays and practices at the level of health care seeking, of transport and of start of antibiotic treatment.10 Visits to referring health centers will provide complementary information about diagnosis, treatment and referral practices. In hospital follow-up will allow to assess the outcome according to the duration of health itinerary. The results of routine laboratory tests upon hospital admission will allow to stratify the health itinerary according to fever etiology. The results of this study will allow to understand the duration of the health itinerary, its possible association with case-fatality, and factors explaining for delays at every level. This information is expected to orient local health policy makers towards interventions shortening the duration of the health itinerary and in that case improve and monitor the referral system. In addition, the study results are expected to orient towards further research to understand health seeking behavior (i.e. focus-group discussions and community-based studies).
Age range
28 Days – 5 Years
Sex
ALL
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Describe health itineraries based on the three delays model in hospital admitted children with suspected bloodstream infection
Timeframe: 7 months
Assess which exposure factors variables are associated with the duration of the health itinerary in hospital admitted children with suspected bloodstream infection
Timeframe: 7 months