South African medical journal = Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir geneeskunde
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To evaluate the efficacy of an adapted Emergency Triage Assessment and Treatment (ETAT) tool at a children's hospital. ⋯ The adapted ETAT process may serve as a reliable triage tool for busy paediatric medical emergency units in resource-constrained countries and could be evaluated further in community emergency settings.
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Comparative Study
'But it's just a spinal': combating increasing rates of maternal death related to spinal anaesthesia.
The number of women dying as a result of spinal anaesthesia during caesarean section in South Africa is steadily increasing in the triennial reports of the National Committee on Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths (NCCEMD). This article postulates some of the reasons behind this phenomenon. ⋯ A case is made for the rigorous application of known safety standards and for doctors to be appropriately trained in anaesthesia and to be solely responsible for the care of the mother during caesarean section. The need for doctors to be trained and prepared to administer general anaesthesia when required is noted.
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South Africa has no policy to prevent malaria in pregnancy, despite the adverse effects of the disease in pregnancy. However, malaria control measures consisting of indoor residual spraying and specific antimalarial treatment have been in place since the 1970s. Information on the burden of malaria in pregnancy in South Africa is needed to indicate whether a specific policy for malaria prevention in pregnancy is necessary. ⋯ The low burden of malaria in these pregnant women suggests that they have benefited from malaria control strategies in the study area. The implication is that additional measures specific for malaria prevention in pregnancy are not required. However, ongoing monitoring is needed to ensure that malaria prevalence remains low.
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The aim of this study is to report the incidence of Clostridium difficile-associated disease (CDAD) in a tertiary-care hospital in South Africa and to identify risk factors, assess patient outcomes and determine the impact of the hypervirulent strain of the organism referred to as North American pulsed-field type 1 (NAP1). ⋯ The incidence of HA-CDAD in the South African setting is far lower than that reported in the West. While antibiotic use was a major risk factor for HA-CDAD, CA-CDAD was not associated with antibiotic therapy. Concurrent IBD was a predictor of CA-CDAD.