African health sciences
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African health sciences · Mar 2022
Knowledge and indulgence in substsance abuse among adolescents in Anambra state, South-East Nigeria.
Substance abuse is a growing societal problem with adolescents being at increased risk. The few studies in Nigerian adolescents have not factored in their knowledge base with regard to the concept of substance abuse. ⋯ An unacceptable proportion of the adolescents were already exposed to substances/drugs in spite of having suboptimal knowledge. Adolescents need to be educated on substance abuse and its dangers in order to curb this in the society.
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African health sciences · Mar 2022
Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards drug-food interactions among patients at public hospitals in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Drug-food interactions can lead to adverse drug reactions and therapy failure which can potentially impact patient safety and therapy outcome. ⋯ Overall, patients had gaps in their knowledge and practices, and positive attitudes towards drug-food interactions. Many patients could not identify food items that can potentially interact with their drugs. It is important that education and medication counselling are provided to patients to prevent drug-food interactions, ensure optimal drug therapy and patient safety.
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African health sciences · Mar 2022
Co-occurrence of antibiotic resistance and virulence Genes in Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Isolates from Pakistan.
Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the major human pathogen that is associated with hospital as well as community acquired infections and is responsible for huge amount of life-threatening diseases. ⋯ This study reports the presence of multidrug resistant, vancomycin-resistant and mecA negative MRSA isolates in infected patients of Rawalpindi and nearby regions of Pakistan that may have attributed to treatment failures, adaptability of new virulence characteristics and spread of antibiotic resistance.
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African health sciences · Mar 2022
The burden and types of anaemia among HIV infected, ART-naive injection substance users in Kenya.
Illicit substance use and HIV infection cause haematological derangements. Anaemia characterized by a reduction in the quality and quantity erythrocytes is the most common disorder in both HIV-positive persons and illicit substance users. ⋯ Infection with HIV is associated with increased risk of anaemia in injectable and non-injectable substance users. Majority of the anaemia was dimorphic suggestive of multiple aetiologies. Establishing the related aetiologies is essential for the effective treatment of anaemia. The accurate evaluation of thin blood films remains an essential tool in diagnosing an array of haematologic disorders and as a reference for further tests and patient management.
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African health sciences · Mar 2022
Vitamin A- and C-rich Pouteria camito fruit derived superparamagnetic nanoparticles synthesis, characterization, and their cytotoxicity.
Recently, green nanoparticles are gaining importance in drug development because of their lower toxicity, sustainability, cost effectiveness, simplicity, and ecofriendly nature compared with toxic chemicals. ⋯ The Pouteria caimito fruit that possesses strong oxidizing and nontoxic properties can be a potentially attractive source for the production of iron oxide nanoparticles. Moreover, the cytotoxicity assay results revealed that iron oxide nanoparticles synthesized using the Pouteria caimito fruit extract derived can be used for targeting cancer cells and treating other diseases because of their nontoxic nature. These nanoparticles can be used for the treatment of cancer and other diseases in the future.