Relationship between Kidney Dysfunction, Stroke Severity, and Outcomes in a Nigerian Tertiary Hospital: A Prospective Study.

Background: Stroke is a common neurologic disease associated with fatal outcomes. Kidney dysfunction may be an important predictor of stroke severity and outcome.

Aim: To determine the relationship between kidney dysfunction at admission and stroke severity and 30-day outcome.

Frequency, pattern and predictors of cognitive impairments in patients with Parkinson's disease using the Community Screening Instrument for Dementia.

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder complicated by cognitive dysfunctions which are associated with increased caregiver burden, pressure on community health facilities, and mortality in affected patients. Most of the data concerning cognitive dysfunctions in PD are from studies conducted in Europe and North America, but there is paucity of data from Sub-Saharan Africa.

Objective: The objective of this study is to determine the frequency, pattern and predictors of cognitive impairments amongst patients with Parkinson's disease.

Establishing and operating a 'virtual ward' system to provide care for patients with COVID-19 at home: experience from The Gambia.

Health systems in sub-Saharan Africa have remained overstretched from dealing with endemic diseases, which limit their capacity to absorb additional stress from new and emerging infectious diseases. Against this backdrop, the rapidly evolving COVID-19 pandemic presented an additional challenge of insufficient hospital beds and human resource for health needed to deliver hospital-based COVID-19 care. Emerging evidence from high-income countries suggests that a 'virtual ward' (VW) system can provide adequate home-based care for selected patients with COVID-19, thereby reducing the need for admissions and mitigate additional stress on hospital beds.

Peripheral arterial disease and its correlates in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in a teaching hospital in northern Nigeria: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a risk factor for diabetic foot ulcer, limb amputation as well as coronary heart disease. It is more common in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and co-exists with peripheral neuropathy. Prevalence of PAD in type 2 DM patients in northern Nigeria is largely unknown.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Awareness among Primary Care Physicians in Africa.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a significant health problem among adults and children globally, resulting in decreased quality of life and increased costs of healthcare. For optimal clinical care, primary care physicians should be familiar with OSA and confident in their ability to screen, diagnose, and manage this condition. To assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of primary care physicians in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa regarding OSA in adults and children.

A novel nutritional supplement to reduce plasma homocysteine in nonpregnant women: A randomised controlled trial in The Gambia.

Background: Infant DNA methylation profiles are associated with their mother's periconceptional nutritional status. DNA methylation relies on nutritional inputs for one-carbon metabolic pathways, including the efficient recycling of homocysteine. This randomised controlled trial in nonpregnant women in rural Gambia tests the efficacy of a novel nutritional supplement designed to improve one-carbon-related nutrient status by reducing plasma homocysteine, and assesses its potential future use in preconception trials.

Burden of informal caregivers of stroke survivors: Validation of the Zarit burden interview in an African population.

Background: Informal care giving can be burdensome particularly where the option of institutionalized informal care scarcely exist.

Objective: To look at the burden of informal caregivers of stroke survivors using the Zarit burden interview (ZBI).

Method: 64 stroke survivors were assessed for demographics of age, gender, duration of follow-up since discharged from in-patient care, modified Rankin score at the time of discharge and at the time of evaluation for this study and the most important informal care giver at home was also assessed for whether care giving was telling on their health or life in any negative way.

Patient-related barriers to hypertension control in a Nigerian population.

Background: Hypertension control is a challenge globally. Barriers to optimal control exist at the patient, physician, and health system levels. Patient-related barriers in our environment are not clear.

Clinical diagnosis of intracerebral haemorrhage: validation of a simple scoring tool in West Africans.

Objective: To validate the use of a simple stroke scoring tool in the clinical diagnosis of intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH).

Design: Prospective observational study .

Methods: 184 patients with acute stroke were consecutively evaluated within 24 hours of admission with a simple clinical tool- Benin Stroke Score (BSS), designed to diagnose ICH before cranial Computed tomography (CT) scans were done and the results were compared with CT findings as the gold standard.

Attitude and practice of antenatal HIV screening among pregnant women attending a secondary health facility in Benin-city.

Objective: To assess the awareness, attitude and practice of HIV testing among antenatal clients in Benin-city.

Methodology: A cross-sectional, descriptive study was carried out among 200 pregnant women. Respondents were selected at the weekly booking clinic using systematic sampling technique.