Tropical doctor
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We conducted a population survey with the objective of identifying the level of cancer awareness. In Nigeria many patients present late for medical care. We analysed data from 460 literate Nigerians. ⋯ Awareness of warning signs and sites of cancer location was very poor and only 33% recognized that a breast lump was a warning sign. Knowledge of methods of early detection was also very low and only 50% said that cancer is curable when detected early. This investigative survey highlighted a considerable ignorance and lack of awareness of cancer among the Nigerian population.
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Patients with puerperal sepsis following delivery at Ife State Hospital (ISH) of Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex (OAUTHC) Ile-Ife over a 10-year period spanning January 1986 to December 1995 were reviewed. One hundred and forty-six patients were diagnosed as having puerperal sepsis and there were 8428 deliveries giving an incidence of 1.7%. ⋯ The case mortality rate was 4.1%. Antenatal care and supervised hospital delivery should be encouraged in order to prevent or reduce this serious post-partum morbidity.
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Management of the critically ill patient forms a significant proportion of obstetric and gynaecological (O & G) practice. There have however, been very few reports on the management of such patients in intensive care units (ICU). We review all O & G patients admitted to the surgical ICU at King Edward VIII Hospital, Durban, South Africa, and make recommendations regarding management of such patients. ⋯ O & G patients form a major workload of surgical ICUs and the majority of these patients are women with eclampsia. Management of such patients requires an understanding of the physiological changes of normal and abnormal pregnancies. Therefore, all large obstetrical units in developing countries should establish their own ICU in order that patient care, health personnel training and continuing health care education may be improved.