African health sciences
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African health sciences · Jun 2020
Sex differences and HIV status of tuberculosis in adults at a rural hospital in southern Ethiopia: an 18-year retrospective cross-sectional study.
The aim of the study was to compare the epidemiology, clinical characteristics and treatment outcome of tuberculosis (TB), including HIV status, in women and men in southern rural Ethiopia. ⋯ Lymph node TB was more common in women. Treatment outcomes were similar in both sexes, but women had a lower mortality rate.
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African health sciences · Jun 2020
Psycho-behavioral factors associated with neurocognitive performance among people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy in Accra, Ghana.
It is estimated that almost half of all people living with HIV have some form of neurocognitive impairment, but few studies have looked at the risk of neurocognitive impairment and its associated factors in Ghana, due in part to limited resources for such testing. ⋯ Some people living with HIV showed risk of neurocognitive impairment, which was significantly associated with education, age and depressive symptoms. It is therefore important to consider routine neurocognitive screening in HIV management to recognize any risks for early interventions.
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African health sciences · Jun 2020
Case ReportsGlanzmann's thrombasthenia: a rare bleeding disorder in a Nigerian girl.
Glanzmann's Thrombasthenia (GT) is a rare autosomal recessive bleeding disorder due to defective platelet membrane glycoprotein GP IIb/IIIa (integrin αIIbβ3). The prevalence is estimated at 1:1,000,000 and it is commonly seen in areas where consanguinity is high. ⋯ To the best of our knowledge, this is the first documented report of GT in our environment where consanguinity is rarely practised. Our health facilities require adequate diagnostic and treatment facilities for rare diseases like GT.
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African health sciences · Jun 2020
Case ReportsMothball ingestion as a manifestation of pica, leading to paradichlorobenzene CNS toxicity.
Pica is a poorly understood psychiatric disorder that presents with the ingestion of non-nutritious substances for unclear reasons. A high index of suspicion for unusual toxin exposure aids in the diagnosis of pica patients presenting with unexplained neurodegenerative features. ⋯ Iron deficiency anemia is commonly associated with pica, which can lead to toxin ingestion. A high index of suspicion for toxin ingestion in pica patients can immensely aid in the diagnosis. Mothball abuse secondary to pica may affect the CNS and can present with nonspecific neurodegenerative changes. To our knowledge, there have been no reported cases in the literature with paradichlorobenzene neurotoxicity predominantly affecting the middle cerebellar peduncles.
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African health sciences · Jun 2020
Implementing electronic health system in Nigeria: perspective assessment in a specialist hospital.
Perspectives on the pioneering work of Electronic Health Recording (EHR) system in Nigeria was studied. ⋯ Health workers were comfortable and satisfied with EHR and it eased their work.Scaling up EHR would reduce administrative cost, transcription errors and paper works to mitigate poor quality data from Nigeria a great contributor to global morbidities/mortalities.