South African medical journal = Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir geneeskunde
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BACKGROUND AND PROBLEM STATEMENT: The South African response to the Haitian earthquake consisted of two independent non-government organisations (NGOs) working separately with minimal contact. Both teams experienced problems during the deployment, mainly owing to not following the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) guidelines.
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At the turn of the century, only 300 cases of warfarin-induced skin necrosis (WISN) had been reported. WISN is a rare but potentially fatal complication of warfarin therapy. There are no published reports of WISN occurring in patients with HIV-1 infection or tuberculosis (TB). ⋯ This is one of the largest case series of WISN. We report a novel clinical entity: WISN in HIV-1 infected patients with TB and venous thrombosis. The occurrence of 6 WISN cases in a 40-month period may be attributed to (i) hypercoagulability, secondary to HIV-1 and TB: (ii) short concurrent heparin and warfarin therapy; and (iii) high loading doses of warfarin. Active prevention and appropriate management of WISN are likely to improve the dire morbidity and mortality of this unusual condition.
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Tigecycline, the first of a new class of antibiotics, the glycylcyclines, was licensed in South Africa for the parenteral treatment of adult patients with complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAIs) and complicated skin and soft-tissue infections (cSSTIs). ⋯ This statement was written out of concern regarding the widespread misuse of antibiotics. Its primary intention is to facilitate heterogeneous use of antibiotics as a component of antibiotic stewardship and to highlight the appropriate use of tigecycline in particular.
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Cryptococcal meningitis is the commonest cause of adult meningitis in Southern Africa. A sizeable proportion of this disease burden is thought to be due to symptomatic relapse of previously treated infection. We carried out a study to examine the contribution of inadequate secondary fluconazole prophylaxis to symptomatic relapses of cryptococcal meningitis. ⋯ Large numbers of relapses of cryptococcal meningitis are due to failed prescription, dispensing, referral for or adherence to secondary fluconazole prophylaxis. Interventions to improve the use of secondary fluconazole prophylaxis are essential.