Document is current

Article History

Received: 15 February 2026

Accepted: 7 May 2026

First Online: 20 May 2026

Declarations

:

: All methods were carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations for research involving human participants, including the ethics principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and applicable national and institutional research ethics standards. The study protocol was reviewed and approved by the Biomedical Research Ethics Committee of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (Approval Number: BE086/21). Institutional permission to access and use routinely collected clinical data was also granted by the District Hospital Executive in Midlands Province, Zimbabwe. This study involved retrospective analysis of routinely collected, de-identified clinical data, and no direct contact with patients occurred. All personal identifiers were removed prior to data extraction and analysis. Anonymized data were stored in secure, password-protected databases accessible only to authorized study personnel to ensure confidentiality and data protection.

: The authors declare no competing interests.