The Pan African medical journal
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The outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has resulted in many cases of morbidity and mortality across the globe, and the lack of the COVID-19 vaccine has contributed greatly to this experience. COVID-19 vaccines have currently been rolled out, and are available in some countries. However, strategies need to be put in place to prevent COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (VH) especially in Africa; a continent where VH has been previously reported following the introduction of new vaccines. ⋯ Also, feedback mechanisms for the acknowledgement of community efforts in previous health interventions should be improved upon to encourage the acceptance of the prospective COVID-19 vaccine. In addition, improved multi-sectoral collaboration should be initiated and promoted to enhance the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines through the provision of more resources required to address COVID-19 VH. Furthermore, integration of the COVID-19 vaccine into the routine immunization schedule would strengthen the health system, improve uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine, and improve the health of all persons living on the African continent.
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In children, coronavirus disease 2019 infection is rarely symptomatic. Severe forms with respiratory distress are rare, thromboembolic complications are exceptional. We report a rare case of a 14 years old girl with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection who was admitted to the hospital for bilateral pulmonary embolism with intracardiac thrombus. The girl progressed well on anticoagulation.
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The COVID-19 pandemic had caused significant morbidity and mortality, with over a million deaths recorded to date. Mortality recorded among severe-critically ill patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU) has been significantly high, especially in most COVID-19 epicenters. Reports on the unique clinical characteristics and outcomes from the ICU admissions are on-going with isolated studies in Africa. ⋯ Duration of treatment with methylprednisolone was significantly associated with patient outcomes (p=0.04) and serum ferritin levels had a tendency to negatively affect outcome (p=0.06). Clearly there are still no specific targeted medications for COVID-19 treatment, except for empirically symptoms-guided treatments and management of mild to critically ill patients. Early use of systemic corticosteroids for severe to critically ill patients in the ICU using S/F ratio and CRP levels may improve outcomes.
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Toxic epidermal necrolysis-like acute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (TEN-like ACLE) is a rare manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Because of its rarity, little is known about this entity. In this report, we describe a case of two women previously diagnosed with SLE that presented TEN-like skin lesions. ⋯ The skin biopsy in both cases showed epidermal necrosis with an identification of lupus band on direct immunofluorescence. Systemic corticosteroids were used with a good evolution after 2 weeks. Skin damage is an indicator of disease activity, and careful search for extracutaneous involvement is obligatory to prevent further complications.