Nutritional quality and physicochemical properties of biscuit from composite flour of wheat, African yam bean and tigernut.

This study investigated the effect of the supplementation of wheat flour with flour blends of African yam bean (AYB) and tigernut for the production of biscuits and evaluated the sensory characteristics. The composite flours were of ratio 70:25:5 (TWB), 70:20:10 (ATW), 70:15:15 (BTT) for wheat: AYB: tigernut, respectively, while 100 % wheat flour served as control (WTY). The composite flour samples were analyzed for proximate, functional and pasting properties.

Risk factor analysis for progressive spinal deformity after resection of intracanal tumors─ a retrospective study of 272 cases.

Background: Progressive spinal deformity has become a well-recognized complication of intracanal tumors resection. However, the factors affecting post-operative spinal stability remain to be further research. Here, we described the current largest series of risk factors analysis for progressive spinal deformity following resection of intracanal tumors.

Paediatric day-case neurosurgery in a resource challenged setting: Pattern and practice.

Background: It has been generally observed that children achieve better convalescence in the home environment especially if discharged same day after surgery. This is probably due to the fact that children generally tend to feel more at ease in the home environment than in the hospital setting. Only few tertiary health institutions provide routine day-case surgery for paediatric neurosurgical patients in our sub-region.

A pathologist's survey on the reporting of sessile serrated adenomas/polyps.

Aim: The purpose of this survey was to ascertain reporting habits of pathologists towards sessile serrated adenomas/polyps (SSA/P).

Methods: A questionnaire designed to highlight diagnostic criteria, approach and clinical implications of SSA/P was circulated electronically to 45 pathologists in the UK and North America.

Results: Forty-three of 45 pathologists agreed to participate.

Application of immunohistochemistry in clinical practice: a review.

Background: Immunohistochemistry (IHC) has radically altered the practice of diagnostic histopathology. It is increasingly being applied for more accurate and precise diagnosis, theranostics and prognostics in the management of tumours. Unfortunately clinicians and pathologists in resource-constrained settings may not be exposed to its clinical utility.

Plasmapheresis treatment in Guillain-Barré syndrome: potential benefit over IVIg in patients with axonal involvement.

Response to therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) was evaluated in patients diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS). Our aim was to assess response to TPE in patients who had failed treatment with intravenous immune globulin (IVIg). We conducted a retrospective chart review of 10 patients with the diagnosis of Guillain-Barré Syndrome who required TPE.

Fatal firearm wounds: a clinicopathologic study.

Firearm-related injuries are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in South Africa. This retrospective autopsy study included all firearm-related fatalities seen at a central mortuary in Durban. These cases had initially been assessed by a clinician before death, from July 1998 to June 1999.

Lymphoproliferative disorders in Oxford renal transplant recipients.

Background: Increased cancer incidence, particularly lymphoproliferative disease, is a complication of immunosuppression in organ transplantation. Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHLs) occur frequently during the first year after transplantation, more so in North America than in Europe.

Methods: This study audited and correlated the demographic, clinical, pathological, and outcome features of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLDs) in a large centre in Oxford, and assessed whether the time of onset fitted more with the European or North American pattern.

Courting disaster? A survey of the autopsy service provided by district surgeons in Kwazulu-Natal.

Aim: To provide information on the overall quality of the autopsy service provided by district surgeons in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and in particular to identify factors which may have a negative impact on the judicial process.

Method: Confidential questionnaires were sent to 73 district surgeons and 216 legal practitioners including prosecution advocates, regional court prosecutors, defence advocates and attorneys. One hundred and twenty (43%) replies (47 doctors and 73 lawyers) were suitable for analysis.

Sudden death caused by myocardial tuberculosis: case report and review of the literature.

A 25-year-old fit man died suddenly while playing social soccer. Autopsy revealed an infiltrative lesion involving the left ventricle with overlying pericarditis. No other significant pathologic changes were observed.

Mechanical airway obstruction caused by accidental aspiration of part of a ballpoint pen.

The authors present three cases of death in children aged 4, 9, and 10 years, respectively, that were first thought to be caused by herbal or other poisonings but at autopsy were found to be caused by airway obstruction from aspiration of ballpoint pen parts. Aspiration of a foreign body is a leading cause of accidental death in children, but the circumstances in these cases were unique. In the first case, a 4-year-old child died shortly after a visit to a traditional healer.

Membranous fat necrosis due to subcutaneous elemental mercury injections.

Membranous fat necrosis (MFN) is a distinct abnormality in systemic and subcutaneous fatty tissue. Although ischemia and trauma have been implicated in its causation, the exact pathogenesis of MFN remains unknown. The deposition of metallic mercury in subcutaneous tissue due to accidental penetration or deliberate injection of mercury is unusual.

Histological evidence of hypertrophy and ischaemia in sigmoid volvulus among Africans.

Objective: To document histological evidence of hypertrophy and ischaemia in sigmoid volvulus among Africans.

Design: Retrospective case series study of the histology of sigmoid volvulus over seven years with cadaveric controls.

Setting: King Edward VIII Teaching Hospital, University of Natal, Durban, South Africa.

Focal nodular hyperplasia of the liver coexisting with an adrenal pseudocyst.

A case of focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) of the liver and an adrenal pseudocyst coexisting in the same patient is presented. The presentation was due to the large adrenal pseudocyst, which caused abdominal pain and swelling. At operation, the FNH was noted as an incidental finding.