Santé (Montrouge, France)
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Santé (Montrouge, France) · Jan 2001
Comparative Study[Survey on sexual behavior by Congolese and French high-school students in an AIDS context].
The social and economic impact of AIDS add to those of a recent civil war in 1997. There were fratricidal confrontations before and after this period. Pointe-Noire, the second city of Congo and the economic Capital, was on the whole spared. ⋯ The answers relative to the fact of having a sexual intercourse with a much older partner (21% versus 13%) do not seem surprising for Congo. But it does not free risks. All these elements are not associated with a better estimate of the personal risk. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED)
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Santé (Montrouge, France) · Jan 2000
[Severely burned patients: epidemiology and treatment (a study of 104 Gabonese cases)].
This retrospective study was carried out over five years (August 1993 to August 1998) and included 104 patients admitted to the intensive care unit for heat-induced or electrical burns affecting more than 10% of their total body surface area. Most of the patients were children or young adults and the mean age of the group was 24 years. Seventy-eight of the patients were the victims of domestic fires. ⋯ In those cases in which the patient died, early death (within one week) was due to respiratory distress and hydroelectrolytic problems whereas deaths after the first week were due to septic shock. The overall death rate was 54.8%. Prevention should be taught, with particular emphasis on those at high risk.
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We report a case of porocephalosis in a 35-year-old Congolese adult who habitually ate large amounts of snake. The principal nonspecific clinical sign was abdominal pain. Diagnosis was based on X-ray examination of the abdomen without preparation and abdominal ultrasound scan.
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Santé (Montrouge, France) · Jan 1999
[Assessing severe maternal anemia and its consequences: the value of a simple examination of the coloration of palpebral conjunctiva].
The aims of this study were: (1) to investigate the relationship between pre-delivery hemoglobin (Hb) concentration and the outcome of the pregnancy for the mother and child and (2) to assess the extent to which the pallor of the conjunctiva indicates severe anemia in pregnancy (Hb < 7 g/dl). We carried out a prospective study in 1995, in the maternity department of the National Sourô Sanou Hospital (Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso). Women arriving to give birth at the maternity unit gave verbal consent and underwent a physical examination including the assessment of conjunctiva coloration. ⋯ Examination of the coloration of the conjunctiva is a suitable and affordable screening method for the detection of severe anemia. Mothers with severe anemia present with signs and symptoms of anemia and could therefore be given iron treatment to improve their health. This demonstrates the importance of nutritional intervention during pregnancy.
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Santé (Montrouge, France) · Jan 1999
Comparative Study[The overall nutritional quality of the diet is reflected in the growth of Nigerian children].
Childhood malnutrition is widespread in the Sahel region of Africa. In Niger, the 1992 Population and Health Survey found that 32% of children under the age of five years had stunted growth and 16% had muscle wasting. Vitamin A deficiency and anemia are major health problems and it is thought that the rate of zinc deficiency is also high. ⋯ Diet quality also predicted the anthropometric status of the child one year later. Our findings suggest that both dietary scores are relevant but that the diversity of food eaten may be a better determinant of growth status if energy intake is close to meeting dietary requirements. Multiple dietary inadequacies are frequent among children from developing countries so scores of overall dietary quality may be more appropriate indicators than the intakes of specific nutrients. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED)