Ethiopian medical journal
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Ethiopian medical journal · Jan 2011
Diagnosis of ischemic heart disease using CK-MB, troponin-I and ischemia modified albumin.
Diagnosis of cardiac ischemia in patients attending emergency department with symptoms of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is often difficult. Biochemical tests like cardiac troponin (cTnI/T) and CK-MB may not rise during reversible myocardial ischemia. Previous reports suggest that oxidative damage due to ischemic conditions rapidly modifies human serum albumin and reduce its capacity to bind exogenous cobalt. Ischemia modified albumin (IMA) has shown to be a sensitive and early biochemical marker. ⋯ The IMA Test can be assayed by simple and quick method, which may serve as a useful diagnostic tool for the assessment of myocardial ischemia/infarct.
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Ethiopian medical journal · Jan 2010
Risk factors and etiology of neonatal sepsis in Tikur Anbessa University Hospital, Ethiopia.
Neonatal sepsis is one of the most common reasons for admission to neonatal units in developing countries. It is also a major cause of mortality in both developed and developing countries. ⋯ Klebsiella spp. and S. aureus were the most common organisms causing neonatal sepsis. Prematurity, low birth weight, abnormal WBC counts and I:T ratio > or = 0.2 were strongly associated with blood culture proven neonatal sepsis. Ciprofloxacin was the most effective drug against the gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Routine bacterial surveillance and the study of their resistance patterns must be an essential component of neonatal care. A knowledge of these patterns is essential when local polices on the uses of antibiotics are being devised.
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Ethiopian medical journal · Jan 2010
The outcome of corneal transplantation versus indications in a tertiary eye care center in Ethiopia.
The outcome of PKP depends on several factors, mainly on its indications. Understanding the causes of graft failure may help to reduce the risk of failure. This study was designed to analyze and compare the long term outcomes of PKP for the different indications in our set up. ⋯ These results show that PKP has a very good outcome for keratoconus and corneal dystrophies. Corneal vascularization and AALK is associated with higher incidence of graft failure. Preoperative patient selection and ensuring conmpliance is shown to be essential.
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Ethiopian medical journal · Oct 2009
Five years review of cases of adult tetanus managed at Gondar University Hospital, North West Ethiopia (Gondar, Sep. 2003-Aug. 2008).
Tetanus is a life threatening preventable infection relatively uncommon in the developed world but occurs frequently in developing countries with case fatality rate of 40-60%. We conducted the study as there is no recent review regarding adult tetanus in Ethiopia which looked at the predisposing factors, presenting features and case fatality rate. ⋯ The study recommends a need for tetanus immunization in those who had acute injury and planning to educate individuals at risk to recognise symptoms early, and seek medical care to combat this fatal disease.
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Ethiopian medical journal · Jan 2009
Prevalence of smear negative pulmonary tuberculosis among patients visiting St. Peter's Tuberculosis Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Smear negative pulmonary tuberculosis is an increasing clinical and epidemiological problem, particularly in areas that are affected by the dual tuberculosis/Human immunodeficiency Virus infections. ⋯ The present study showed 82.6% smear negative pulmonary tuberculosis cases were still etiologically unexplained by culture. Therefore, there is a need to develop a scheme to determine the most cost-effective approaches for the diagnosis of smear negative pulmonary tuberculosis in the Ethiopian setting, such as improving the screening method patients with tuberculosis and other chronic pulmonary diseases, chest-x-ray readings and interpretation, specimen collection and processing, smear microscopy, culture and applying laboratory quality control schemes in parallel.