South African medical journal = Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir geneeskunde
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Termination of pregnancy (TOP) remains a controversial issue, regardless of legislation. Access to services as well as psychological effects may vary across the world. ⋯ Resilience, religion and chronic burden emerge as significant variables in women undergoing a first-trimester TOP, and warrant further assessment in studies of this nature.
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Acute ataxia in childhood is often caused by toxin ingestion. With the increasing number of paediatric patients on antiretroviral medication, we are seeing more side-effects of these drugs. We report two cases of efavirenz toxicity causing ataxia.
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Response time is viewed as a key performance indicator in most emergency medical services (EMS) systems. ⋯ The addition of emergency vehicles to an urban EMS system improves response times in priority 1 incidents, but alone is not capable of the magnitude of response time improvement needed to meet the national response time targets.
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In 2011, the Department of Health of the Western Cape Province, South Africa, requested a review of current burn services in the province, with a view to formulating a more efficient and cost-effective service. This article considers the findings of the review and presents strategies to improve delivery of appropriate burn care at primary and secondary levels. ⋯ The community management of paediatric burns was satisfactory, although considerable delays in transfer and insufficient pain control hampered appropriate care. A great need for ongoing education at all levels was identified. Ten strategies are presented that could, if implemented, lead to tangible improvements in the management of burn patients at primary and secondary levels in the Western Cape.