The Pan African medical journal
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The goal of this paper is to discuss how to ameliorate the management of penetrating cardiac injuries in general surgery department. An algorithm for the initial assessment of penetrating injuries in cardiac box, based on our own experience, is presented. This was a retrospective study of 19 patients undergoing thoracotomy for penetrating cardiac injuries, managed in the department of general surgery of Nabeul-Tunisia, between 1994 and 2010. ⋯ All patients had cardiac injury resulting from stab wounds inside of the pericardium. 42% of them were critically unstable, 21% had cardiac tamponnade. All these patients were quickly transferred to the operating room without any other investigations. 37% of patients were hemodynamically stable and underwent additional investigations. The management of penetrating cardiac injuries is possible in a general surgery department, but it requires a rapid prehospital transfer, a yet thorough physical examination along with efficient surgical management, all done in minimal time.
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The high breast cancer mortality rate in Sub-Saharan Africa has been attributed to a lack of public awareness of the disease which often leads to late diagnosis of the disease. Little is known about the level of knowledge and awareness of breast cancer in Angola. Previous studies have shown that breast cancer awareness is higher among well-educated people. The goal of this study was to assess breast cancer knowledge and awareness among university students in Angola. ⋯ The study points to the insufficient knowledge of university students in Angola about breast cancer. We expect that our results may provide useful data that may be used by the department of health in Angola and other African countries to formulate health education programs aimed at increasing awareness and promote screening and early detection of breast cancer in the continent.