Overview of Rate and Risk Factors of Surgical Site Infection in a Tertiary Hospital in Liberia: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) is accountable for a third of postoperative deaths and for 8% of all deaths due to hospital-acquired infections. There is a wide disparity in the incidence and burden of SSI in low and high-income countries.

Objectives: To assess the rates and risk factors of SSI in a tertiary hospital in a resource-limited sub-Saharan African country and generate institutional baseline data for future monitoring and interventions.

SIFT IT: A feasibility and preliminary efficacy randomized controlled trial of a social cognition group treatment programme for people with acquired brain injury.

Making sense of social situations requires social cognitive skills, which can be impaired after acquired brain injury (ABI), yet few evidence-based treatment options are available. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of a multi-faceted social cognition group treatment programme, SIFT IT, for people after ABI using an RCT design. Twenty-eight participants were recruited, and 23 were randomized into either Treatment or Waitlist.

Place of urolithiasis in the spectrum of urological pathologies, practices and use of endourological procedures in the management of calculi of the upper urinary tract: results of a survey of referral centres in Africa.

Our aim was to determine the current trend of endourology in the management of upper urinary tract calculi in Africa reference centres. We conducted an online multiple-choice questionnaire survey involving 46 centres from 27 countries using a structured well-designed Google Form (®) questionnaire. The questionnaires were distributed to the head of service through their emails.

Exploring neuropsychological underpinnings of poor communication after traumatic brain injury: The role of apathy, disinhibition and social cognition.

Background: Dysarthria, aphasia and executive processes have been examined for their role in producing impaired communicative competence post traumatic brain injury (TBI). Less understood is the role of emotional dysregulation, that is, apathy and disinhibition, and social cognition, that is, reading and interpreting social cues.

Methods & Procedures: In this study, we examined 49 adults with moderate to severe TBI and 18 neurologically healthy adults.

Novel mutation in coagulation factor VII (Carmel mutation): Identification and characterization.

Background: Measurement of factor VII (FVII) activity does not enable prediction of bleeding tendency in individuals with inherited FVII deficiency.

Objective: To characterize the molecular and functional features of FVII in a family with FVII deficiency and correlate them with the bleeding tendency.

Patients/methods: We studied 7 family members with very low FVII activity using prothrombin time (PT), activated factor VII (FVIIa), FVII activity level, and thrombin generation.