East African medical journal
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Diabetic ketoacidosis is the most common hyperglycaemic emergency in patients with diabetes mellitus, especially type 1 diabetes. It carries very high mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, both in the treated patients and those who are presenting to hospital with diabetes for the first time. ⋯ Although mortality and morbidity from diabetic ketoacidosis remains high in sub-Saharan Africa, improved healthcare systems and reliable insulin supply can reverse the trend, at least, to a large extent. Individuals and populations need empowerment through education, nutrition and poverty eradication to improve self-care in health and living with diabetes.
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To examine existing information on the recent influenza outbreaks in order to create awareness of a possible influenza pandemic and to suggest future research areas in developing control strategies in Kenya. ⋯ Influenza is a highly contagious, acute respiratory disease that may spread rapidly and pervasively through a population. Due to the diversity of susceptible reservoirs of influenza viruses and the interspecies transmission recently reported, a mutated strain of the virus to which people have no immunity could cause an influenza pandemic once the virus gains efficient and sustained human-to-human transmission. The fear that avian influenza could be a precursor to the next pandemic is real and inevitable, given the extremely high case-fatality ratio among confirmed cases and that genetic sequencing of influenza A (H5N1) viruses from human cases in Thailand and Vietnam show resistance to the antiviral medication amantadine and rimantadine. This calls for a high level of preparedness to avoid a public health emergency. Nowhere is this paradigm more real than in Africa.
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To assess the impact of supplemental mass measles immunisations. ⋯ In similar situations, supplemental mass measles immunisations should be focused on IDPs camps with a wide age group in addition to improved routine immunization activities in the entire district.
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To determine the local aetiological spectrum of surgically relevant causes of abdominal pain. ⋯ The results highlight the fact, with respects to abdominal pain, that there are significant differences between the disease patterns in different geographical locations. Assuming the converse could adversely affect the management of patients with abdominal pain locally.
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To identify and quantitate anaesthesia related complications in the intraoperative period and in the post anaesthesia recovery room. ⋯ Our study showed a high incidence of complications both in the intraoperative period and in the recovery room. Complication rate was higher in females than males. The incidence of complications was also higher in the elderly patients.