West African journal of medicine
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The restoration of intestinal continuity following Hartmann's procedure is associated with high morbidity and mortality rates and low restoration rate. ⋯ Hartmann's procedure remains associated with an significant mortality. Morbidity, essentially arises from infections of the operative site. However the restoration of the intestinal continuity remains a sure intervention with an acceptable morbidity.
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It is a professional obligation for health researchers to investigate and communicate their findings to the medical community. The writing of a publishable scientific manuscript can be a daunting task for the beginner and to even some established researchers. Many manuscripts fail to get off the ground and/or are rejected. ⋯ An important injunction is to make the writing precise, clear, parsimonious, and comprehensible to the intended audience. The purpose of this article is to arm and encourage potential biomedical authors with tools and rules that will enable them to write contemporary manuscripts, which can stand the rigorous peer review process. The expectations of standard journals, and common pitfalls the major elements of a manuscript are covered.
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Asymptomatic bacteriuria in pregnancy is the major risk factor for symptomatic urinary tract infection during pregnancy. Screening and identification of bacteriuria during pregnancy have been recommended. ⋯ Prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria in this centre is relatively high. This underscores the need for routine screening of pregnant women for bacteriuria.
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Hernia surgery is one of the most frequent procedures done by surgeons - paediatric and general surgeons -in the African continent. ⋯ Based on the clinical studies reviewed, there is a large disease burden of inguinal hernias in Africa. There is, understandably, also a limited surgical capacity to reduce this burden. The authors advocate the formation of an African Hernia Society to partner with corporate and international organisations to make hernias a public health problem and to attempt to determine, using population-based studies, the actual burden of the disease in Africa and then to take modern hernia surgery to most parts of the continent to help reduce the hernia burden, especially its complications.
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Case Reports
Negative pressure pulmonary oedema following adenoidectomy under general anaesthesia: a case series.
Negative pressure pulmonary oedema (NPPE) is a potentially life-threatening complication of laryngospasm that occurs during or after general anaesthesia. It is a complication of poorly treated or unrecognized laryngospasm occurring at extubation or later in the postoperative period. ⋯ Negative pressure pulmonary oedema is a self limiting complication of laryngospasm if it is well managed. However, its outcome may not be good in a patient with intercurrent medical illness such as sickle cell anaemia in which hypoxaemia is deleterious.