Browsing by Author "Bisaso, Kuteesa R."

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    Is there a distinction between malaria treatment and intermittent preventive treatment? Insights from a cross-sectional study of anti-malarial drug use among Ugandan pregnant women
    (Malaria journal, 2015) Odongo, Charles O.; Bisaso, Kuteesa R.; Kitutu, Freddy; Obua, Celestino; Byamugisha, Josaphat
    In Uganda, treatment of clinical malaria and intermittent preventive treatment with sulphadoxinepyrimethamine (SP) are common during pregnancy. As a result, both formal and informal reports from antenatal sources suggest possible misuse of SP for malaria treatment among pregnant women. The objective of this study was to investigate anti-malarial drug use patterns among women who had recently suffered malaria illness before and during pregnancy. Methods: A cross-sectional study in which a structured questionnaire (interviewer-administered) was used to collect data from pregnant women attending an urban antenatal clinic. Details of medicines used to treat malaria episodes suffered before and during pregnancy were captured. A first order Markov probability model was used to estimate probabilities of transitioning between treatment choices made before and during pregnancy. Logistic regression was used to explore whether demographic and obstetric characteristics were associated with transition patterns. Results: Seven hundred women were interviewed among whom 428 had suffered malaria in both instances. Three hundred thirty of these could recall the medicines used in both instances. Women who used ACT/QNN (correct choice) before pregnancy had higher probabilities of transitioning to SP than staying on ACT/QNN during pregnancy (0.463 versus 0.451). Access of medicines from private outlets (clinics and pharmacies) were more than nine times predictive of receiving correct medicines (p=0.035 and p=0.039 respectively). Access of medicines from clinics was 5.9 times protective against receiving SP for malaria treatment (p=0.033). Among those who used SP before pregnancy, there was a 0.75 probability of staying on it during pregnancy. None of the factors explored could explain this observation. Conclusion: Use of SP for malaria treatment is common during pregnancy. This may be contributing to adverse pregnancy outcomes. Antenatal care providers should endeavour to emphasize the distinction between treatment and prevention of malaria during pregnancy.
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    A survey of machine learning applications in HIV clinical research and care
    (Computers in biology and medicine, 2017) Bisaso, Kuteesa R.; Anguzu, Godwin T.; Karungi, Susan A.; Kiragga, Agnes; Castelnuovo, Barbara
    A wealth of genetic, demographic, clinical and biomarker data is collected from routine clinical care of HIV patients and exists in the form of medical records available among the medical care and research communities. Machine learning (ML) methods have the ability to identify and discover patterns in complex datasets and predict future outcomes of HIV treatment. We survey published studies that make use of ML techniques in HIV clinical research and care. An advanced search relevant to the use of ML in HIV research was conducted in the PubMed biomedical database. The survey outcomes of interest include data sources, ML techniques, ML tasks and ML application paradigms. A growing trend in application of ML in HIV research was observed. The application paradigm has diversified to include practical clinical application, but statistical analysis remains the most dominant application. There is an increase in the use of genomic sources of data and high performance non-parametric ML methods with a focus on combating resistance to antiretroviral therapy (ART). There is need for improvement in collection of health records data and increased training in ML so as to translate ML research into clinical application in HIV management.