Procalcitonin in the Post-Operative Burn Patient.

Serum procalcitonin (PCT) is a biomarker used to diagnose sepsis and infection. Following invasive bacterial infection, PCT is detectable in peripheral blood. The aim of our study was to determine if there is a relationship between serum PCT post-burn wound debridement and burn-related sepsis.

The management and outcomes of hepatocellular carcinoma in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of mortality in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This systematic review aimed to appraise all population-based studies describing the management and outcomes of HCC in SSA.

Methods: A systematic review based on a search in PubMed, PubMed Central, Scopus, Web of Science, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), AfricaWide and Cochrane up to June 2023 was performed.

Therapeutic strategies for refractory variceal bleeding due to percutaneous liver biopsy: A case report.

Introduction And Importance: Variceal bleeding due to intrahepatic arterioportal fistula is an unusual complication of percutaneous liver biopsy. As majority of variceal bleeding are cirrhotic in origin, the rare occurrence of an acquired intrahepatic arterioportal fistula presents a therapeutic dilemma.

Case Presentation: We report the case of a 57-year-old female with refractory variceal bleeding that occurred six years after a percutaneous liver biopsy.

A Study Comparing Outcomes of Appendectomy between HIV-Infected and HIV-Negative Patients.

The high prevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has added a new dimension to the management and outcomes of many general surgical conditions in South Africa. However, there is a paucity of data describing the impact of HIV status on surgical outcomes in our setting. Appendicitis is a most common gastrointestinal emergency, and its surgical outcomes in areas of high HIV prevalence are poorly described in the literature.

Surgical portosystemic shunts versus transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt for variceal haemorrhage in people with cirrhosis.

Background: Variceal haemorrhage that is refractory or recurs after pharmacologic and endoscopic therapy requires a portal decompression shunt (either surgical shunts or radiologic shunt, transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS)). TIPS has become the shunt of choice; however, is it the preferred option? This review assesses evidence for the comparisons of surgical portosystemic shunts versus TIPS for variceal haemorrhage in people with cirrhotic portal hypertension.

Objectives: To assess the benefits and harms of surgical portosystemic shunts versus transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) for treatment of refractory or recurrent variceal haemorrhage in people with cirrhotic portal hypertension.

Surgical portosystemic shunts versus devascularisation procedures for prevention of variceal rebleeding in people with hepatosplenic schistosomiasis.

Background: Hepatosplenic schistosomiasis is an important cause of variceal bleeding in low-income countries. Randomised clinical trials have evaluated the outcomes of two categories of surgical interventions, shunts and devascularisation procedures, for the prevention of variceal rebleeding in people with hepatosplenic schistosomiasis. The comparative overall benefits and harms of these two interventions are unclear.

Enterohepatic Migration of Fish Bone Resulting in Liver Abscess.

Liver abscess formation due to enterohepatic migration of a foreign body is extremely rare. Foreign body ingestion is generally an unconscious and painless event, thus complicating preoperative diagnosis in most patients. We report the case of a 61-year-old man who presented with secondary peritonitis from a ruptured hepatic abscess after an ingested fish bone migrated into the liver.