A survey on a rural in-hospital population diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation in west Shewa region, Ethiopia.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained arrhythmia seen in clinical practice. It has been extensively studied in Western countries but less is known about developing countries.

Methods: We collected data on a rural population afferent to Wolisso hospital in Ethiopia, analysing epidemiology, clinical and cardiac ultrasound profile.

[Electrocardiographic diagnosis: when QRS is wide.].

Differential diagnosis of one or more wide QRS complexes on an electrocardiogram under emergency conditions takes into account three main sets of clinical conditions: ventricular pre-excitation, aberrant conduction and ventricular beats and it is based on the morphological analysis of the ECG and patient's anamnestic data. Several criteria can facilitate the differential diagnosis and if properly used and integrated with clinic data they can achieve good diagnostic accuracy in most cases. In this review several criteria based on evidence and literature are presented, paying attention in recognizing some morphologic pathways that can be used in emergency room and allow a correct ECG assessment.

Pre-hospital oily chloramphenicol treatment in meningitis outbreaks in low resources environments.

Bacterial meningitis is an important cause of death and disability in sub-Saharan Africa and, with pre-treatment in peripheral health centres, the poorest populations could avoid early death, especially if they live far from hospital. During the 2001 meningitis epidemic in south Chad, Moyen Chari sanitary district peripheral health centres were equipped with oily chloramphenicol (CAP) to administer before hospital referral in suspected cases of meningitis. Eighty-six patients treated with CAP in whom the diagnosis was definitively confirmed subsequently in hospital were compared with patients receiving CAP at hospital admission during the same period.

Suggestive criteria for pulmonary tuberculosis in developing countries.

Tuberculosis (TB) represents a major problem in developing countries. Diagnosis is often difficult and mainly relies on clinical criteria and simple laboratory examinations, as cultural methods and molecular biology are not available in most health facilities. In order to evaluate the reliability of clinical criteria to suggest pulmonary TB, a prospective survey was conducted in Wolisso Hospital, South-West Shewa region, Ethiopia.

Echocardiography in low-resource rural tropical hospitals.

Cardiopathies are common in tropical regions and echocardiography could be of substantial value. However, it is difficult to practice. We suggest simple techniques with conventional instruments that are available in many rural hospitals, and describe the most common echocardiographic procedures and findings that can be undertaken with short training by non-cardiologist physicians.

Snake bites in Moyen Chari district, Chad: a five-year experience.

Snake bites are of major public health importance in Africa as a cause of morbidity and mortality. Echis ocellatus is responsible for the majority of envenomation cases in West Africa. Antivenom immunotherapy is the only specific treatment available for envenomed patients.

Outcome of severely malnourished children treated according to UNICEF 2004 guidelines: a one-year experience in a zone hospital in rural Ethiopia.

Malnutrition still has a dramatic impact on childhood mortality in sub-Saharan African countries. Very few studies have tried to evaluate the outcome of severely malnourished children treated according to the UNICEF 2004 guidelines and reported fatality rates are still very high. During 2006, 1635 children were admitted to the paediatric ward of St.

[Mansonella perstans filariasis].

Mansonella perstans filariasis is widely present in Africa and equatorial America and its pathogenicity has been recently reconsidered. Although M. perstans infection has been considered a minor filariasis, remaining asymptomatic in most of infected subjects, more recent studies have shown that M.

Case report: effects of diethylcarbamazine and thiabendazole combination against Mansonella perstans filariasis.

Mansonella perstans filariasis is widely present in Africa and equatorial America and its pathogenicity has been recently reconsidered. Effective treatment is lacking and there is no consensus on optimal therapeutic approach. We present the results of a new combination treatment against M.

Prevalence of filariasis in symptomatic patients in Moyen Chari district, south of Chad.

Filarial parasites infect an estimated 140 million people worldwide. Wuchereria bancrofti, Onchocerca volvulus, Loa loa and Mansonella perstans are responsible for most filarial infections in sub-Saharan Africa. We describe the prevalence and the clinical characteristics of filariasis in symptomatic patients in Goundi Sanitary district:167 patients were enrolled (99 men, 68 women).

The 2001 meningitis epidemic in south Chad.

Aim: Bacterial meningitis is widespread in many areas of tropical countries, has a high mortality rate, and is often devastating. However, epidemiological studies in rural areas are quite rare, especially in Chad. We report data concerning the 2001 meningitis epidemic in the Moyen Chari district, in Southern Chad.

Comparison of different anthelminthic drug regimens against Mansonella perstans filariasis.

Mansonella perstans filariasis is widely present in Africa and equatorial America and its pathogenicity has recently been reconsidered. Effective treatment is lacking and there is no consensus on the optimal therapeutic approach. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of different drug regimens on M.

African Burkitt lymphoma successfully treated with CEOP polychemotherapy.

A 6-year-old male child was consulted in our ambulatory in Goundi missionary hospital in South Chad, in September 2001. He complained of a long lasting abdominal mass and weakness. African Burkitt lymphoma with abdominal "bulky" involvement was strongly suspected.

Effects of thiabendazole in Mansonella perstans filariasis.

Mansonella perstans is a human filarial parasite distributed across the center of Africa and equatorial America. Although M. perstans infection is asymptomatic in most individuals, a variety of symptoms have been described, including angioedema, pruritus, fever, ocular involvement, and serous cavities pain.

Transfusional Mansonella perstans microfilariasis.

Mansonella perstans filariasis is widely distributed across the center of Africa and equatorial America. We describe a case of post-transfusional M. perstans microfilariasis in a young child, affected with severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria, admitted in Goundi Hospital in South of Chad.

Leukocyte alkaline phosphatase in Plasmodium falciparum malaria.

We studied leukocyte alkaline phosphatase in malaria to assess leukocyte defence mechanisms. Twenty-seven patients with malaria were stratified into two classes on the basis of disease severity. Fifteen malaria negative patients were taken as controls.

Case report: intraocular localization of Mansonella perstans in a patient from south Chad.

A case of Mansonella perstans infection with visual impairment and a retinal lesion is described. After a course of diethylcarbamazine and a further course of mebendazole the symptoms improved and the microfilariae blood concentration decreased. The symptoms and response to antifilarial treatment strongly suggested the intraocular localization of an M.

Azithromycin in the treatment of Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes. Preliminary observation.

Background: Treatment of malaria represents a problem as antimalarial drugs are relatively few, and because of the increasing widespread resistance of Plasmodium falciparum to most of these drugs. A partial efficacy of azithromycin against Pl. falciparum hepatic stage and against trophozoytes in the erythrocytic stages of the disease has been demonstrated.

[Histoplasmosis: not only a tropical disease].

Histoplasmosis is a fungal infection resulting from inhalation of spores from the fungus Histoplasma capsulatum; it is known to be endemic in various parts of the world, especially in North and Latin America, and can produce a spectrum of illness, from subclinical infection to progressive disseminated disease. The majority of infected persons have an asymptomatic, self-limiting illness. Clinical pneumonia occurs in those with exposure to a large number of infecting spores.

[Imported malaria in Emergency Department].

It occasionally happens that patients don't suspect to have malaria and diagnosis becomes difficult for the Emergency Department physicians. Since September 1995 to February 1999, 8 cases of malaria have been diagnosed in our first aid station; 5 occurred in european and 3 in extraeuropean immigrants. Incidence of imported malaria was greater after holiday period for european, and equally distributed along the year for immigrants.

Mefloquine-induced grand mal seizure in tubercular meningitis.

Mefloquine represents a promising antimalarial drug against Plasmodium falciparum. It has been related to an increase in seizure frequency in epileptic patients and should not be administered to patients with a history of convulsions, epilepsy in first degree relatives, or serious psychiatric disorders. We report a case of a man from the Ivory Coast complaining of fever, headache and anemia treated with chloroquine and subsequently with mefloquine in the suspicion of malaria, even in the absence of laboratory confirmation.