African Health Sciences

BACKGROUND: Being a doctor remains a moral enterprise as he is expected to make some medical decisions based on ethical principles during encounter with patients. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate the knowledge and application of medical ethical principles amongst physician groups in a Hospital in Enugu, Nigeria. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional self-assessed study conducted amongst medical doctors in five specialty groups in a teaching hospital in Enugu, Nigeria...

INTRODUCTION: Apgar score is conducted to a baby immediately after birth checking how the baby tolerated the birth process and outside the uterus. OBJECTIVES: To describe the neonatal factors associated with immediate low Apgar score and analysing the associations among factors associated with low Apgar score in new-born babies. METHODS: A quantitative, case-control, descriptive research design was used. Study population were all maternal records of deliveries conducted between 01 January 2019 and 31 December 2019...

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated pregnant women's perception and level of satisfaction with quality of antenatal care received at Plateau State Specialist Hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study employed a hospital-based cross-sectional design. Convenience sampling was used to select two hundred and thirty-eight (238) women attending antenatal clinic at the Plateau State Specialist Hospital. A validated semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire with a Cronbach's Alpha score of 0...

BACKGROUND: Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) is the most predominant pathogen that causes severe urinary tract infections (UTIs). Their therapeutic options are limited due to the rising of antibiotic resistance. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to evaluate the level of antibiotic resistance profile, redundancy of virulence genes, and their correlation. METHODS: 41 UPEC isolates were collected from patients diagnosed with UTI, identified by the standard microbiological analysis, and tested for susceptibility to 12 antibiotic agents using the Kirby-Bauer method...

BACKGROUND: Globally, 45% of under-five children death occurs during the neonatal period and about 25% of all neonatal deaths are caused by birth asphyxia. In Ethiopia, in 2015, it was the first cause of neonatal deaths followed by prematurity and sepsis. The study aims to assess prevalence of Birth asphyxia and associated factors. METHODS: Institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among neonates admitted to Neonatal intensive care unit of Hawassa University Specialized comprehensive hospital from December 1 to December 30, 2020...

BACKGROUND: Delayed placental separation either after vaginal birth or caesarean birth is an important cause of postpartum haemorrhage, among other causes such as uterine atony. Intra-umbilical oxytocin has been shown to reduce the time to placental delivery after vaginal birth. However, the efficacy of intra-umbilical oxytocin to reduce the time to placental delivery following caesarean section birth is not known. OBJECTIVES: To explore the preliminary efficacy, feasibility and safety of intra-umbilical oxytocin to reduce the time to placental delivery at caesarean section...

BACKGROUND: Breast cysts encompass a variety of pathologies, both benign and malignant. Therefore, classifying cysts into different categories is needful to develop a management algorithm. This study aimed to describe and distinguish between simple, complicated and complex cysts; and compare the final BIRADS assessment with pathologic findings. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 5-year retrospective review of our ultrasound database identified two hundred and seventy patients with cystic breast lesions...

BACKGROUND: With the onset of the South African democracy in 1994 it was hoped that many social inequalities would be addressed urgently. However, studies have shown that service delivery inaccessibility remains a challenge and investigating the social implications of such injustices remains important. OBJECTIVE: This study determined to establish the association between service delivery inaccessibility and adolescent pregnancy in South Africa. METHODS: Using data from 2019 and 2021 general household surveys, 7 737 teenage females were included...

OBJECTIVE: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has high degree of malignance and proneness to recurrence and metastasis. The aim of this study was to analyse the risk factors influencing the chemotherapy compliance and survival status of elderly NSCLC patients. METHODS: The clinical data of 110 patients admitted from January 2014 to March 2018 were retrospectively analysed. They were assigned to non-chemotherapy (n=25), partial chemotherapy (n=30) and complete chemotherapy (n=55) groups according to chemotherapy compliance, and followed up until March 2021...

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of paracervical block with intramuscular Diclofenac for pain relief during manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) for early pregnancy losses. METHODOLOGY: This was an open label randomized controlled trial. Participants were randomized into two therapeutic groups (A and B) using computer generated numbers. Group A received intramuscular Diclofenac 75 mg. Group B received paracervical block using 1% Lidocaine. Participants were asked to rate their pain level on a continuous 10 cm visual analogue scale (VAS) from 0 (no pain) to 10 (the worst pain ever) within 5 minutes of completing the procedure...

BACKGROUND: The world is currently facing a pandemic due to a new species of the Coronaviridae family called SARS-CoV-2, discovered in the city of Wuhan in China in December 2019. The WHO has named the resulting disease COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019). It has been a global health problem due to its major socio-economic damage. The aim of this study was to show the prevalence of gastrointestinal and hepatic manifestations in symptomatic children with COVID-19. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study, including 36 symptomatic children infected by SARS-CoV-2 hospitalized at the mother and child hospital of university hospital of Mohammed VI, Marrakech in Morocco, over a period of 7 months...

BACKGROUND: To investigate the expression of Th17, T lymphocyte immunoglobulin mucin 3 (TIM-3+) cells and their related cytokines in atrial fibrillation (AF) and their clinical significance. METHODOLOGY: A total of 90 patients with AF were divided into paroxysmal group (n=45) and chronic group (n=45), and 45 healthy volunteers were selected as the control group. The proportion of Th17 cells and Tim-3 + cells in the peripheral blood were detected. The concentrations of related cytokines in peripheral blood serum were determined...

PURPOSE: The study aimed to determine the prevalence, causes, and associated factors of visual impairment and blindness among the older population in Outreach sites, Northwest Ethiopia. METHODS: A community-outreach-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 821 older population which were selected using a systematic random sampling technique. Face-to-face interviews and ocular examinations were performed to collect the data. A binary logistic regression was performed...

BACKGROUND: Fungal opportunistic infections in burn wound patients are among the leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Attention remains focused on preventing bacterial infection at the expense of increasing fungal infection in burn wound patients. OBJECTIVE: To determine the occurrence of common fungi in admitted burn wound patients and their environment: and their antifungal susceptibility patterns at the University Teaching Hospitals, Lusaka, Zambia. METHODS: This laboratory-based cross-sectional study enrolled a total 101 participants whose pus swab specimens were collected from their burn wounds as well as 50 environmental swabs collected from strategic points...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the risk factors of thyroid nodule recurrence after radiofrequency ablation (RFA). METHODS The medical record information of 120 patients with thyroid nodules admitted to our hospital from June 2019 to April 2022 was retrospectively analysed. All participants received RFA treatment. According to the results of the postoperative thyroid ultrasound examination (USG), the patients were divided into the recurrence group (R, N=16) and the non-recurrence group (NR, N=104)...

INTRODUCTION: Sickle cell syndrome (SCS) represent a real health problem. In this work, we propose to study the epidemiological and clinical features of 66 patients with SCS. METHODS: This is a retrospective descriptive cross-sectional study carried out on a population of 66 patients with SCS, (36 S/S, 18 S/β-thalassemia, seven S/C and five S/OArab ), over a period of two years. RESULTS: The average age of our population is 15.5 years ± 8...

BACKGROUND: Given the paucity of skin health specialists in Nigeria and the low level of awareness amongst its populace, patients seek for care for skin related disorders from different sources and are given a variety of remedies before accessing specialist care. OBJECTIVES: This study was aimed at describing outlets visited and medication received by patients with skin disorders prior to attending the dermatology outpatient clinic in JUTH. METHODS: This was a cross sectional study conducted over one year...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of interventional vascular embolization at different timing on the prognosis and serum S100 calcium-binding protein B (S100B) level of patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). METHODS: A total of 229 aSAH patients enrolled from January 2016 to January 2020 were divided into an early-stage group (n=66), a middle-stage group (n=95) and a late-stage group (n=68. Their baseline data, serum indices and clinical outcomes were compared...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare the impacts of 0.15% ropivacaine alone and 0.15% ropivacaine combined with sufentanil on epidural labor analgesia. METHODS: A total of 297 eligible primiparae were randomly divided into group A (n=149, 0.15% ropivacaine + sufentanil) and group B (n=148, 0.15% ropivacaine). Visual analogue scale (VAS) scores prior to analgesia and 20 min following epidural medication, the maximum VAS score during labor, dosage of analgesic drugs, modified Bromage score, satisfaction degree, labor duration, delivery mode, 1-min and 5-min Apgar scores of newborns, adverse reactions during analgesia, and fever during labor were recorded...

Coronavirus disease 2019 popularly known as COVID-19 is the current pandemic ravaging the world. It has disrupted so many aspects of humans' life including the healthcare systems of all countries. While governments have instituted preventive measures such as social distancing, self-isolation and lockdown in a bid to control the spread of the virus, the absence of vaccine can lead to poor management of key risk factors (including unhealthy diets and physical inactivity) associated with NCDs and limited access to preventive health services can further contribute to development and progression of NCDs...