Impact of HIV infection on meningitis in Harare, Zimbabwe: a prospective study of 406 predominantly adult patients.

Objective: To determine the causative organisms and characteristics of patients presenting with features of meningitis.

Design: A prospective cross-sectional study.

Setting: Two tertiary university-affiliated hospitals in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Double blind randomised placebo controlled trial of adjunctive prednisolone in the treatment of effusive tuberculous pericarditis in HIV seropositive patients.

Objective: To determine the effect of adjunctive prednisolone on morbidity, pericardial fluid resolution, and mortality in HIV seropositive patients with effusive tuberculous pericarditis.

Design: Double blind randomised placebo controlled trial.

Setting: Two medical school affiliated referral hospitals in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Hypertension management in Zimbabwe--awareness, treatment and blood pressure control. A community-based study.

Objective: To evaluate the level of awareness of hypertension, treatment and blood pressure control in rural and urban communities in Zimbabwe.

Design: Community-based cross-sectional survey.

Subjects And Setting: 749 male and female heads of households aged > 34 years recruited from alternate households of randomly selected villages in two adjacent rural areas and randomly selected streets in an urban area.

Morbidity and disability in elderly Zimbabweans.

Background: the population aged over 60 years in Zimbabwe is expanding. Despite the likely increased demand on medical services that this will bring, little is known about the health needs of this elderly population.

Objective: to record the prevalence of disability (impairment of activities of daily living), subjective morbidity (symptoms), the social circumstances and the utilization of health services in a group of elderly Zimbabweans.