Determinants of the practice of traditional Uvulectomy as seen at Thika District Hospital: a survey on children below five years
Abstract
The aim of the study was to establish the determinants of uvulectomy, the
indications and complications as well as establishing the methods the
traditional surgeons use to clean and/or sterilize instruments. This was a
cross sectional descriptive study in a rural district hospital, in this case
Thika district. It involved children of 5yrs and below. The respondent
was the child's guardian/parent and a questionnaire was used to direct
and record information. A total of 311 guardians/parents responded to the
questionnaire. In addition 3 uvulectomists were interviewed
The results indicated that the mean age for uvulectomy was 9.7months
with the youngest child being one week old. The main indication was
vomiting after feeds (43%) while the main complication was infections.
The methods used to clean and/or decontaminate equipments were not
adequate to prevent cross-infections.
Citation
Masters of Medicine, University of Nairobi, 2005Publisher
University of Nairobi School of Medicine