African health sciences
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African health sciences · Jun 2013
A 5 - year surveillance of wound infections at a rural tertiary hospital in Nigeria.
Wound infections are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. ⋯ Staphylococcus aureus was the most predominant etiologic agent of wound infection among in and out patients. A generally higher resistance pattern was observed among nosocomial bacterial pathogens. Prudent use of antibiotics is recommended.
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African health sciences · Jun 2013
Case Reports Historical ArticleNodding syndrome: origins and natural history of a longstanding epileptic disorder in sub-Saharan Africa.
Repetitive involuntary head nodding was first reported in the 1960s in the Wapogoro tribe of Tanzania. ⋯ Historical accounts of head nodding (amesinzia kichwa, Swahili) among the Wapogoro tribe fit the August 2012 World Health Organization (WHO) case definition of probable Nodding Syndrome. Reported to have existed in this population for at least 80 years, Nodding Syndrome is a progressive seizure disorder that leads to generalized convulsions (kifafa), brain damage and death.
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African health sciences · Jun 2013
Commonly cited incentives in the community implementation of the emergency maternal and newborn care study in western Kenya.
Mortality of mothers and newborns is an important public health problem in low-income countries. In the rural setting, implementation of community based education and mobilization are strategies that have sought to reduce these mortalities. Frequently such approaches rely on volunteers within each community. ⋯ Monetary allowances, improved transportation and some sort of identification are the main incentives cited by the respondents in this context.
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African health sciences · Jun 2013
Comparative StudyEffect of severe sepsis on platelet count and their indices.
Sepsis is a major disease affecting almost all organs and systems. ⋯ Platelet indices are important laboratory findings in the diagnosis of sepsis and severe sepsis. Severe sepsis patients who have greater than 18 % PDW levels have a higher risk of death. Therefore, PDW, which is part of an inexpensive, easily accessible and routinely performed test for almost all patients admitted to health facilities may be used for predicting mortality.
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African health sciences · Jun 2013
The outcome of non-carbapenem-based empirical antibacterial therapy and VRE colonisation in patients with hematological malignancies.
Febrile neutropenia (FN) is generally a complication of cancer chemotherapy. ⋯ Our results suggest that initiating of non-carbapenem based therapy does not provide high response rates in the treatment of febrile neutropenia attacks. Furthermore, non-carbapenem-based empirical therapy provides benefit in regard to cost-effectiveness and antimicrobial stewardship when local antibiotic resistance patterns of gram-negative bacteria are considered. Patients who are colonized with VRE are more likely to develop bacteremia with VRE strains as a result of invasive procedures and severe damage of mucosal barriers observed in this group of patients.