South African medical journal = Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir geneeskunde
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Multicenter Study
National audit of critical care resources in South Africa - transfer of critically ill patients.
To establish the efficacy of the current system of referral of critical care patients: (i) from public hospitals with no ICU or HCU facilities to hospitals with appropriate facilities; and (ii) from public and private sector hospitals with ICU or HCU facilities to hospitals with appropriate facilities. ⋯ A combination of current resource constraints, the vast distances in some regions of the country and the historical disparities of health resource distribution represent a unique challenge which demands a novel approach to equitable health care appropriation.
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Multicenter Study
National audit of critical care resources in South Africa - unit and bed distribution.
To determine the national distribution of intensive care unit (ICU)/high care (HC) units and beds. ⋯ The most compelling conclusion from this study is the need for regionalisation of ICU services in SA.
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To revise the existing South African community-acquired pneumonia guideline in the light of the following factors: * Increasing antibiotic resistance * Introduction of new antibiotics * International trends based on evidence published since the previous guideline. The main aim of the guideline is to recommend an initial choice of antibiotics in patients with community-acquired pneumonia encompassing the following subgroups: * Adults without co-morbid illness * The elderly and/or those with associated co-morbid illness, including patients with concomitant human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, and * Patients with severe pneumonia. ⋯ The guideline is endorsed by the South African Thoracic Society, the Federation of Infectious Diseases Societies of Southern Africa, and the Critical Care Society of Southern Africa.
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Chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis (CMC) refers to a group of disorders which have in common recurrent and persistent infections of the skin, nails and mucous membranes by Candida albicans and occasionally other candida species. A proportion of these patients show an associated endocrinopathy as part of the autoimmune polyendocrinopathy-candidiasis-ectodermal dystrophy (APECED) syndrome. Many cases, however, are not associated with endocrinopathy and demonstrate a variety of T-cell or antigen-presenting cell defects leading to abnormal cell-mediated responses to C. albicans.