East African medical journal
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Injuries are common and on increase in most developing countries, including sub-Saharan Africa. A large proportion of the injuries are caused by road traffic accidents, falls, burns, assaults, bites, stings and other animal-related injuries, poisonings, drownings/near-drownings and suicide. Globally, injuries are responsible for about five per cent of the total mortality, and the overall global annual costs were estimated in the late 1980s at around 500 billion US dollars. ⋯ The outcome of emergency medical care and of different forms of transport and referral needs to be determined. Different combinations of preventive interventions needs to be evaluated. This review is intended as guidance for those who need a broad overview of the subject of injury occurrence and prevention in Africa, for example in preparation for the development of injury control programmes or to help identify issues requiring further research in this field.
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To review the findings of safe motherhood intervention studies conducted in African settings. ⋯ More than a decade after the launching of the Safe Motherhood Initiative, there exists little evidence regarding which interventions will reduce maternal mortality levels in African settings. Intervention studies conducted in Africa have identified several low-tech improvements in emergency obstetric services which improve maternal outcomes and deserve replication and testing in a variety of settings. Further operational research should be conducted to identify and test other promising safe motherhood interventions, in particular interventions designed to reduce the important proportion of maternal mortality associated with unsafe termination of pregnancy.
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Sinus of Valsalva aneurysms are uncommon. Aortic sinus aneurysm may be complicated by endocarditis or rupture. A 26 year old native Ghanaian presented with dyspnoea, raised jugular venous pressure (JVP), tender hepatomegaly, peripheral oedema, a thrill and a continuous murmur at the upper left sternal edge. ⋯ Colour flow revealed left to right shunting of blood from the aortic root into the right atrium. A year later he presented with a febrile illness, weight loss, night sweats and was diagnosed as having culture negative infective endocarditis. Following a course of antibiotics, he underwent successful cardiopulmonary bypass surgery with repair of the ruptured aneurysm of the right sinus of Valsalva.
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To study the frequency of occurrence as well as the course and variations in the communicating branch of the musculocutaneous nerve and the relationship of the communicating branch to other structures in the upper arms of Zimbabwean subjects. ⋯ The communicating branch was present in 33% of the cases. The communicating branch when present varied considerably in respect of its origin and its union with the median nerve. In one extreme case, the whole musculocutaneous nerve joined the median nerve and the muscular branches to the biceps brachii and brachilis arose from the median nerve. The clinician or surgeon should be aware of the presence of communicating branch and its variations in origin, course and relationships in the upper arm.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Use of a simple pain model to evaluate analgesic activity of ibuprofen versus paracetamol.
To evaluate the analgesic activity of ibuprofen against paracetamol using a simple pain model. ⋯ Sore throat pain provided a sensitive model to assess the analgesic efficacy of class I analgesics and discriminated between the analgesic efficacy of ibuprofen and paracetamol.