The Journal of tropical medicine and hygiene
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This study was conducted to quantify the importance of trauma and death due to interpersonal violence in rural Lesotho and to gain an insight into the profile of the assault victims, the circumstances of the violent incidents and the type of weapons wielded and wounds inflicted. During a one-year period starting June 1988 information was recorded on all patients with assault trauma attending Quthing District Hospital. The annual incidence rate of assault on men between 20 and 49, the most affected age group, was estimated to be as high as 30 per 1000. ⋯ Women used stones, teeth or bare hands and feet equally frequently. The limited presence of firearms may have prevented higher death rates. It is suggested that the disruption of the social structure of the Basotho society through its dependence on migrant labour leads to weakened normative reference, the moral net, which is the underlying cause for the serious violence problem of the country.
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Publications on the use of antibacterial agents for wounds and burns in the developing world continue to emphasize the value of antiseptics such as Eusol and gentian violet. In the developed world these agents have been mostly discredited. A workshop organized by the European Society for Tissue Repair concluded that clearer instructions about the role of antibacterial agents in the management of wounds and burns could clarify appropriate usage. The report considers the factors contributing to infection and rationalizes the use of disinfectants, antiseptics and antibiotics, especially in the developing world.
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One hundred and thirty-nine cases of rhinosporidiosis diagnosed histopathologically over a period of 4 years were analysed. Nasal rhinosporidiosis is common among males who bathe in stagnant ponds while ocular rhinosporidiosis is common among urban females. There is a seasonal variation in the incidence of nasal and ocular rhinosporidiosis.
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This retrospective study was undertaken to obtain recent information on the pattern of road traffic accidents (RTA) and the associated disabilities in Nigeria. We reviewed the medical records of RTA related cases recorded between 1987 and 1990 at Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife. Over the 4-year period, 2667 cases of RTA were recorded and this constitutes 5.3% of the total medical and surgical emergencies seen at the hospital. ⋯ Pedestrian casualties accounted for 28.3% of the RTA cases. The majority (67.4%) of the hospitalized RTA patients sustained a fracture and 12.2% died during admission. Our findings if extrapolated to all the hospitals in Nigeria confirm the speculation that RTA is one of the leading causes of death in Nigeria.
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Comparative Study
Iron status of Zairean pregnant women with and without serological markers of hepatitis B virus infection.
We assessed the iron status of 203 Zairean pregnant women: 38 with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection (HBsAg(+)), 94 with antibodies to the surface antigen (Anti-HBs(+)) and 71 without HBV markers (HBsAg(-)/Anti-HBs(-)). Participants, age range 15-42 years and parity 1-12, were recruited from Mama Yemo Hospital in summer 1983. Haemoglobin (Hb), serum iron, total iron binding capacity and transferrin saturation (TS) were determined by standard techniques and serum ferritin (FERR) by radioimmunoassay. ⋯ Women with inflammation and identical HBV markers had higher mean FERR levels than those without inflammation. Neither the prevalence of anaemia, which varied between 32 and 35%, nor that of iron deficiency, which varied between 52 and 59%, differed significantly between the three groups of women. We conclude that in pregnant women, chronic asymptomatic HBV infection is not associated with a lower prevalence of iron deficiency and/or anaemia.