WP6: Efficacy of ultrasound-guided hydrocele aspiration to prevent surgical intervention.
This task will investigate in a larger patient cohort the efficacy of ultrasound-guided hydrocele aspiration and is strongly reliant on the F-CuRE and the mobile phone-based text messaging tasks. A significant proportion of the public health problem represented by LF is due to morbidity and disability related to hydrocele. For advanced hydrocele stages, the only option is hydrocelectomy, an uncommon practice in rural areas due to the lack of capacity to carry out the procedure. It has previously been shown in a small study that ultrasound-guided aspiration resulted in long-term improvement of stage 2 to 3 hydrocele patients. This finding will be investigated in a larger patient cohort with hydrocele stages 2 to 3, and for the first time even extended to patients with hydrocele stage 4. Confirmation of the efficacy of ultrasound-guided hydrocele aspiration would constitute a big step forward in morbidity management for LF and will be further advocated Ministries of Health as standard treatment for LF infected patients presenting with hydroceles. This WP will be led by Dr. Ute Klarmann-Schulz and Dr. Linda Batsa Debrah.