African health sciences
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African health sciences · Dec 2021
Comparison of chest HRCT severity score in PCR positive and PCR negative clinically suspected COVID-19 Patients.
The limitations and false-negative results of Real-time Polymerase chain reaction (RT PCR) in diagnosing COVID-19 infection demand the need for imaging modalities such as chest HRCT to improve the diagnostic accuracy and assess the severity of the infection. ⋯ CR negativity does not rule out infection in clinically suspected COVID-19 patients. The use of chest HRCT helps to determine the extent of lung damage in clinically suspected patients irrespective of PCR results. Guidelines that consider clinical symptoms, chest HRCT severity score and PCR results for a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 in suspected patients are needed.
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African health sciences · Dec 2021
The evaluation of vancomycin-resistant enterococci and carbapenamase producing Klebsiella colonization among ICU-Hospitalized Patients.
Multi-drug resistant organisms, especially Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus (VRE) and Carbapenam Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (KPC), are serious health threat. Early detection of resistant bacteria colonization among patients in intensive care units (ICUs) not only enables effective treatment but more importantly prevents disease and limits transmission. Therefore, we aimed to to assess the frequency of VRE and KPC colonization via rectal swab sampling. ⋯ This study shows that VRE and KPC colonization continues to be a serious threat in ICUs.
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African health sciences · Dec 2021
Occurrence of bacteraemia following oral and maxillofacial surgical procedures in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
A prospective study of 130 patients attending the Government Dental and Maxillofacial Hospital (now Maxillofacial unit, Rivers State University Teaching Hospital), Port Harcourt, between August 2018 and September 2019. ⋯ This study shows the occurrence of bacteremia in Nigerians following various oral and maxillofacial surgical procedures and that the observed bacteremia was not dependent on the patient's age or gender. This study emphasizes the need for antibiotic prophylaxis in those patients who are at risk of developing complications from bacteremia. Amoxicillin as this study shows will not be an effective antibiotic prophylactic agent in a majority of patients. The author therefore recommends the use of azithromycin as an alternative prophylactic agent in those patients.
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African health sciences · Dec 2021
Clinical profile and initial treatment of non-small cell lung cancer: a retrospective cohort study at the Uganda Cancer Institute.
Lung cancer is a major global public health burden constituting 11.6% of all new cancer diagnoses and 18.4% of all cancer-related mortality. ⋯ Patients with non-small cell lung cancer in Uganda frequently presented with late-stage disease at diagnosis. The majority of patients were female, never-smokers, and had predominantly adenocarcinoma subtype.
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African health sciences · Dec 2021
Historical Article100 years later, little has changed in Brazil: disinformation and pandemic.
About 100 years separate the last two pandemics that hit humanity, but scientific development does not seem to have impacted Brazilian society, including its leaders. Remedies without scientific proof, obviously without effectiveness, have been used in Brazil against the Spanish flu and nothing has changed against COVID-19. But perhaps today the process of disinformation is worse because the Internet and social networks are too efficient to spread Fake News, resulting in doctors, politicians and journalists prescribing all kinds of innocuous medicines. In this way, Brazil and its government conduct an erratic confrontation of the disease, based on scientific denialism, with tragic results.