Intensive Care in Sub-Saharan Africa: A National Review of the Service Status in Ethiopia

BACKGROUND

The burden of critical illness in low-income countries is high and expected to rise. This has implications for wider public health measures including maternal mortality, deaths from communicable diseases, and the global burden of disease related to injury. There is a paucity of data pertaining to the provision of critical care in low-income countries. This study provides a review of critical care services in Ethiopia.

METHODS

Multicenter structured onsite surveys incorporating face-to-face interviews, narrative discussions, and on-site assessment were conducted at intensive care units (ICUs) in September 2020 to ascertain structure, organization, workforce, resources, and service capacity. The 12 recommended variables and classification criteria of the World Federation of Societies of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine (WFSICCM) taskforce criteria were utilized to provide an overview of service and service classification.

RESULTS

A total of 51 of 53 (96%) ICUs were included, representing 324 beds, for a population of 114 million; this corresponds to approximately 0.3 public ICU beds per 100,000 population. Services were concentrated in the capital Addis Ababa with 25% of bed capacity and 51% of critical care physicians. No ICU had piped oxygen. Only 33% (106) beds had all of the 3 basic recommended noninvasive monitoring devices (sphygmomanometer, pulse oximetry, and electrocardiography). There was limited capacity for ventilation (n = 189; 58%), invasive monitoring (n = 9; 3%), and renal dialysis (n = 4; 8%). Infection prevention and control strategies were lacking.

CONCLUSIONS

This study highlights major deficiencies in quantity, distribution, organization, and provision of intensive care in Ethiopia. Improvement efforts led by the Ministry of Health with input from the acute care workforce are an urgent priority.

Critical care capacity in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: A citywide survey of public hospitals

PURPOSE

We evaluated critical care capacity in the 15 intensive care units (ICUs) in public hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to determine the current state of critical care in the city and inform capacity-building efforts.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional survey of ICU medical and nursing directors or their delegates using a standardized questionnaire based on World Federation of Society of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine (WFSICCM) criteria.

RESULTS

ICU size ranged from 3 to 15 beds. All ICUs had capacity for mechanical ventilation and vasopressor support, and 53% had intensivists on staff. Ultrasound was available in 93%, while 40% had capacity for invasive blood pressure monitoring. Identified barriers to care included a lack of essential equipment, supplies, medications and specially trained providers. Respondents considered increasing available beds and coordinating between hospitals crucial for capacity building.

CONCLUSIONS

There is burgeoning critical care capacity in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with 103 ICU beds in public hospitals, and the WFSICCM criteria provide a useful framework for evaluating critical care capacity and identifying priorities for capacity building. All ICUs in public hospitals in Addis Ababa were able to provide basic support for patients with life-threatening organ failure but demonstrated marked heterogeneity in critical care capacity.