ArticlePLOS global public health2022
The burden of respiratory conditions in the emergency department of Muhimbili National Hospital in Tanzania in the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross sectional descriptive study.
Article in PLOS global public health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 6 papers.
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6 citing papers in PubMed.
- SARS-CoV-2 IgG seropositivity among people living with and without HIV in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Haiti and Tanzania.IJID regions · 2026Article
- Influence of respiratory disease experiences on COVID-19 vaccine acceptance: a study from Southeastern Louisiana.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on HIV/AIDS care and management in Tanzania: challenges, adaptations and lessons learnt-a review.BMJ public health · 2024Review
- SARS-CoV-2 RNA Presence in Outdoor Air of Public Spaces in Valladolid During Winter, 2021.Food and environmental virology · 2024Article
- Indigenous Knowledge and Quantitative Analysis of Medicinal Plants Used to Remedy Respiratory Tract Disorders in Mid-Western Tanzania.BioMed research international · 2024Article
- Correction: The burden of respiratory conditions in the emergency department of Muhimbili National Hospital in Tanzania in the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross sectional descriptive study.PLOS global public health · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Globally, respiratory diseases cause 10 million deaths every year. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the burden of respiratory illness increased and led to significant morbidity and mortality in both high- and low-income countries. This study assessed the burden and trend of respiratory conditions among patients presenting to the emergency department of Muhimbili National Hospital in Tanzania and compared with national COVID-19 data to determine if this knowledge may be useful for the surveillance of disease outbreaks in settings of limited specific diagnostic testing. The study used routinely collected data from the electronic information system in the Emergency Medical Department (EMD) of Muhimbili National Hospital in Tanzania. All patients presenting to the EMD in a 2-year period, 2020 and 2021 with respiratory conditions were included. Descriptive statistics and graphical visualizations were used to describe the burden of respiratory conditions and the trends over time and to compare to national Tanzanian COVID-19 data during the same period. One in every four patients who presented to the EMD of the Muhimbili National Hospital had a respiratory condition- 1039 patients per month. Of the 24,942 patients, 52% were males, and the median age (IQR) was 34.7 (21.7, 53.7) years. The most common respiratory diagnoses were pneumonia (52%), upper respiratory tract infections (31%), asthma (4.8%) and suspected COVID-19 (2.5%). There were four peaks of respiratory conditions coinciding with the four waves in the national COVID-19 data. We conclude that the burden of respiratory conditions among patients presenting to the EMD of Muhimbili National Hospital is high. The trend shows four peaks of respiratory conditions in 2020-2021 seen to coincide with the four waves in the national COVID-19 data. Real-time hospital-based surveillance tools may be useful for early detection of respiratory disease outbreaks and other public health emergencies in settings with limited diagnostic testing.
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