Estimating the causal effect of dexamethasone versus hydrocortisone on the neutrophil- lymphocyte ratio in critically ill COVID-19 patients from Tygerberg Hospital ICU using TMLE method.

Background: Causal inference from observational studies is an area of interest to researchers, advancing rapidly over the years and with it, the methods for causal effect estimation. Among them, Targeted Maximum Likelihood estimation (TMLE) possesses arguably the most outstanding statistical properties, and with no outright treatment for COVID-19, there was an opportunity to estimate the causal effect of dexamethasone versus hydrocortisone upon the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), a vital indicator for disease progression among critically ill COVID-19 patients.

Methods: TMLE variations were used in the analysis.

The Surgical Outcome of Infective Endocarditis in South Africa over 10 Years: A Retrospective Review.

There is a paucity of data on the outcome of left-sided cardiac valve surgery for infective endocarditis in South Africa. It is hypothesized that outcomes may be poorer compared to international standards due to differences in disease burden, timing of surgery, organism prevalence, and co-morbidities. This is a retrospective study of 160 patients with left heart valve endocarditis who underwent cardiac surgery from January 2010 to December 2019.

Disparity between statistical and clinical significance in published randomised controlled trials indexed in PubMed: a protocol for a cross-sectional methodological survey.

Introduction: The commonly used frequentist paradigm of null hypothesis statistics testing with its reliance on the p-value and the corresponding notion of 'statistical significance' has been under ongoing criticism. Misinterpretation and misuse of the p-value have contributed to publication bias, unreliable studies, frequent false positives, fraud and mistrust in results of scientific studies. While p-values themselves are still useful, part of the problem may be the confusion between statistical and clinical significance.

Antiretroviral therapy and HIV-associated cardiovascular disease: a prospective cardiac biomarker and CMR tissue characterization study.

Aims: Biochemical markers are fundamental in cardiac evaluation, and various novel assays have recently been discovered. We prospectively evaluated the hearts of newly diagnosed people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLWH) using cardiac biomarkers, compared them with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-uninfected controls, and correlated our prospective findings with cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR).

Methods And Results: Newly diagnosed, antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naïve PLWH were recruited along with HIV-uninfected, age-matched, and sex-matched controls.

Prediction of hematocrit decline and the impact of peri-operative fluid use in lumbar spinal fusion surgery.

Purpose: Peri-operative blood loss unaccounted for and post-operative hematocrit decline could have a significant impact on the outcome of elective spinal surgery patients. The study assesses the accuracy of predictive models of hematocrit decline and blood loss in spinal surgery and determines the impact of peri-operative fluid administration on hematocrit levels of patients undergoing first-time single level lumbar fusion surgery for degenerative spine disease and the trend thereof in the first 24 h post-operatively.

Methods: Clinical and biochemical parameters were prospectively collected in patients undergoing single level lumbar spinal surgery.

Erythrocytapheresis in Children and Young Adults with Hemoglobinopathies and Iron Overload in Need of Iron Chelation Therapy.

Limited data regarding erythrocytapheresis in children, adolescents, and young adults have been published. The aim of this study was to evaluate erythrocytapheresis, either as a standalone therapy or in combination with iron chelation therapy, in children and young adults with hemoglobinopathies in whom current iron chelation therapy is not sufficient in decreasing the iron overload during management. We retrospectively analysed erythrocytapheresis in 19 patients with hemoglobinopathies in need of iron chelation therapy diagnosed with sickle cell disease (SCD) or β-thalassemia major.

Cardiac scoring systems, coronary artery disease and major adverse cardiovascular events: A scoping review.

Background: In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared coronary artery disease (CAD) as the leading cause of death globally for the last 20 years. Early screening and detection (primary prevention) and intervention (secondary prevention) are necessary to curb CAD and major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) prevalence. A scoping review to assess the current literature on using cardiac scoring systems to predict CAD and MACE was performed.

Ten-year predictors of major adverse cardiovascular events in patients without angina.

Background: Longstanding cardiovascular risk factors cause major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). Major adverse cardiovascular events prediction may improve outcomes. The aim was to evaluate the ten-year predictors of MACE in patients without angina.

Reliability and validity of the Shona version of the Exercise Benefits and Barriers Scale in Zimbabwean adult people living with HIV/AIDS.

Introduction: Despite the widely known benefits of physical activity (PA), only 25% of people living with HIV (PLHIV) meet the WHO-recommended minimum PA levels. Consequently, it is essential to understand PA barriers and facilitators using objective measures. Although the Exercise Benefits and Barriers Scale (EBBS) is extensively used, its psychometric evidence is fragmented and has not been previously validated in PLHIV.

Data sharing and data governance in sub-Saharan Africa: Perspectives from researchers and scientists engaged in data-intensive research.

Unlabelled: The data ecosystem is complex and involves multiple stakeholders. Researchers and scientists engaging in data-intensive research collect, analyse, store, manage and share large volumes of data. Consequently, capturing researchers' and scientists' views from multidisciplinary fields on data use, sharing and governance adds an important African perspective to emerging debates.

Exploring perspectives of research ethics committee members on the governance of big data in sub-Saharan Africa.

Interest in the governance of big data is growing exponentially. However, finding the right balance between making large volumes of data accessible, and safeguarding privacy, preventing data misuse, determining authorship and protecting intellectual property remain challenging. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), research ethics committees (RECs) play an important role in reviewing data-intense research protocols.

Risk factors of poor developmental outcome in children with tuberculous meningitis.

Background: Neurodevelopmental delay is a significant long-term complication of childhood tuberculous meningitis (TBM). The objective of this study was to assess risk factors for neurodevelopmental delay in children with TBM.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of children diagnosed with TBM at Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa, over a 30-year period between 1985 and 2015.

Recognition of infants at high risk for vertical HIV transmission at delivery in rural Western Cape Province, South Africa.

Background: Despite South Africa’s substantial reduction in vertical HIV transmission (VHT), national paediatric HIV elimination is not yet attained. National and Western Cape Province (WC) HIV guidelines recommend enhanced postnatal prophylaxis for infants at high risk for VHT, identified in the WC 2015/2016 guidelines by any single high-risk criterion (maternal antiretroviral therapy (ART) <12 weeks, absent/ unsuppressed maternal HIV viral load (HIV-VL) <12 weeks before/including delivery, spontaneous preterm labour, prolonged rupture of membranes, chorioamnionitis). Accuracy of high-risk infant identification is unknown.

Depression, Anxiety, and Their Association to Health-Related Quality of Life in Men Commencing Prostate Cancer Treatment at Tertiary Hospitals in Cape Town, South Africa.

Background: Comorbid depression and anxiety in men with localised prostate cancer (CaP) largely go undiagnosed and untreated and their effects on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in men with CaP should not be underestimated. We examined the prevalence of depression and anxiety and its association with HRQOL in men about to commence treatment for CaP and the differences between treatment groups, radical prostatectomy (RP) and radiation therapy (RT).

Method: One hundred and seven participants from a longitudinal prospective observational study assessing depression, anxiety and HRQOL in men with localised CaP (DAHCaP), were used in this cross-sectional analysis.

Traumatic brain injury: Association between the Glasgow Coma Scale score and intensive care unit mortality.

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) prevalence in Botswana is high and this, coupled with a small population, may reduce productivity. There is no previous study in Botswana on the association between mortality from TBI and the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score although global literature supports its existence.

Objectives: Our primary aim was to determine the association between the initial GCS score and the time to mortality of adults admitted with TBI at the Princess Marina Hospital, Gaborone, Botswana, between 2014 and 2019.

Prevalence and Characteristics of HIV-Associated Stroke in a Tertiary Hospital Setting in South Africa.

Background And Objectives: Antiretroviral treatment (ART) era HIV-associated stroke data from sub-Saharan Africa are limited. We determined the prevalence of HIV in patients presenting with acute symptomatic stroke and compared risk factors, clinical characteristics, and brain imaging with age-matched stroke patients without HIV.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of adults presenting with any type of stroke to Tygerberg Hospital in a 12-month period.

Concentrations of Efavirenz, Tenofovir, and Emtricitabine in Obesity: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Obesity is increasing worldwide including in people living with HIV (PLWH). Antiretroviral pharmacokinetic data in obesity are limited.

Objectives: To measure antiretroviral drug concentrations in obese and nonobese PLWH treated with the fixed-dose combination of efavirenz-tenofovir-emtricitabine.

Decisional Conflict is Associated with Treatment Modality and not Disease Knowledge in South African Men with Prostate Cancer: Baseline Results from a Longitudinal Prospective Observational Study.

Background: Decisional conflict (DC) is a psychological construct that an individual experiences in making a decision that involves risk, loss, regret, or challenges to one's values. This study assessed DC in a cohort of South African men undergoing curative treatment for localised prostate cancer (LPC). The objectives were to (1) to examine the association between DC and prostate cancer knowledge (PCK), demographics, state anxiety, prostate cancer anxiety and time to treatment and (2) to compare levels of DC between treatment groups [prostatectomy (RP) and external beam radiation (RT)].

Pharmacogenetics of the Late-Onset Efavirenz Neurotoxicity Syndrome (LENS).

Background: The late-onset efavirenz neurotoxicity syndrome (LENS) presents as ataxia and/or encephalopathy with supratherapeutic efavirenz plasma concentrations (>4 µg/mL). Efavirenz is primarily metabolized by cytochrome P450 2B6 (CYP2B6), with CYP2A6 as an accessory pathway. We hypothesized that participants with LENS would predominantly be CYP2B6 slow metabolizers.

Reorganisation of primary care services during COVID-19 in the Western Cape, South Africa: Perspectives of primary care nurses.

Background: Primary care nurses play a pivotal role in the response to disasters and pandemics. The coronavirus diseases 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic required preventative, diagnostic, and curative measures for persons presenting with symptoms of COVID-19 by healthcare providers, whilst continuing other essential services. We aimed to investigate the reorganisation of primary care services during COVID-19 from the perspectives of primary care nurses in the Western Cape province of South Africa.