Prevalence and determinants of poor glycaemic control amongst patients with diabetes followed at Vanga Evangelical Hospital, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Background: The prevalence of diabetes mellitus is increasing dramatically in developing countries, where diabetic patients usually present with poor glycaemic control, leading to complications and worsening the prognosis.

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the extent of poor glycaemic control and its determinants in diabetic patients.

Setting: The study was conducted in a rural area of the province of Kwilu, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Treatment outcomes of adults with new onset pulmonary tuberculosis in Pretoria, South Africa.

A persistently high burden of tuberculosis (TB) and low cure rates in South Africa call for frequent assessment of the effectiveness of the TB programme. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to evaluate treatment outcomes and associated factors among new TB patients taking standard regimen 1 TB treatment during 2010 in Pretoria, using the World Health Organization's six treatment outcomes classification. The 85 participants (of whom 59% were female) had co-infection with HIV in 70%.

Prevalence and determinants of psychological insulin resistance among type 2 diabetic patients in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Background: Psychological insulin resistance (PIR) is a common but unappreciated phenomenon by health care providers with a negative impact on the control of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Aim: To determine the frequency of PIR and its determinants in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Setting: This study was conducted in Kinshasa in three health centres providing management of diabetic patients.

Ingestion of mammalian meat and alpha-gal allergy: Clinical relevance in primary care.

Background: An allergic reaction to mammalian meat has recently been reported in rural parts of South Africa and throughout other parts of the world. The cause of this allergic reaction is because of an oligosaccharide antigen known as galactose-alpha-1, 3-galactose (alpha-gal) found in mammalian meat. Hard ticks in various parts of the world have been identified as a cause of sensitisation to the alpha-gal antigen.

Prof. George Samuel Fehrsen: 26 August 1938 - 22 May 2018 (almost 80 years).

No abstract available.

An audit of the management of ectopic pregnancies in a district hospital, Gauteng, South Africa.

Background:  Ectopic pregnancy (EP) is a life-threatening condition; at Odi Hospital, approximately 7-10 EPs are managed weekly. Our study is the first to assess the management of this life-threatening condition at Odi Hospital.

Aim:  This study aimed to determine the incidence of EP and to assess the profile of women who presented with EP at Odi District Hospital from 01 January 2010 to 31 December 2014.

A mortality review of tuberculosis and HIV co-infected patients in Mahalapye, Botswana: Does cotrimoxazole preventive therapy and/or antiretroviral therapy protect against death?

Background:  The World Health Organization aims to reduce tuberculosis (TB) mortality rate from 15% in 2015 to 6.5% by 2025.

Aim:  This study determined the profile of TB and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) co-infected patients who died in Mahalapye District, Botswana, while on anti-TB medication and the factors that contributed to such outcome.

Intimate partner violence: The need for an alternative primary preventive approach in Botswana.

Intimate partner violence is a common social problem which causes considerable relationship stress and results in significant morbidity and mortality of the victims. Botswana, like many other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, has tried to address the problem of intimate partner violence with legislations prescribing punitive measures for the perpetrators and protection for the victims. The effectiveness of these measures in reducing the prevalence of intimate partner violence is doubtful.

Rationale and design of the comparison of 3 combination therapies in lowering blood pressure in black Africans (CREOLE study): 2 × 3 factorial randomized single-blind multicenter trial.

Background: Current hypertension guidelines recommend the use of combination therapy as first-line treatment or early in the management of hypertensive patients. Although there are many possible combinations of blood pressure(BP)-lowering therapies, the best combination for the black population is still a subject of debate because no large randomized controlled trials have been conducted in this group to compare the efficacy of different combination therapies to address this issue.

Methods: The comparison of 3 combination therapies in lowering BP in the black Africans (CREOLE) study is a randomized single-blind trial that will compare the efficacy of amlodipine plus hydrochlorothiazide versus amlodipine plus perindopril and versus perindopril plus hydrochlorothiazide in blacks residing in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Corrigendum: The effectiveness of the South African Triage Tool use in Mahalapye District Hospital - Emergency Department, Botswana.

No abstract available.

Knowledge of type 2 diabetic patients about their condition in Kimpese Hospital diabetic clinic, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a worldwide increasing health problem of which type 2 diabetes is the most prevalent. Previously considered as a problem of industrialised countries, diabetes is currently a huge concern in developing countries and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is one of the sub-Saharan countries with a high prevalence rate of diabetes. Deficit of knowledge has already been shown to be one of the barriers preventing diabetic patients from controlling their disease.

Knowledge, attitudes and management skills of medical practitioners regarding weight management.

Background: Overweight and obesity have become a global problem. Health professionals are poorly prepared in weight management, which has an effect on their attitudes and management skills with regard to overweight and obese patients.Aim and setting: To assess the knowledge, attitudes and management skills of medical practitioners regarding weight management at Odi District Hospital, Gauteng Province, South Africa.

Assessment of self-reported adherence among patients with type 2 diabetes in Matlala District Hospital, Limpopo Province.

Introduction: Complications associated with Diabetes Mellitus are a burden to health services, especially in resource poor settings. These complications are associated with substandard care and poor adherence to treatment plans. The aim of the study was to assess the self-reported adherence to treatment amongst patients with type 2 diabetes in Matlala District Hospital, Limpopo Province.

The effectiveness of the South African Triage Toll use in Mahalapye District Hospital - Emergency Department, Botswana.

Background: The study aimed to determine the proportion of each priority level of patients, time of performance in each priority level, and the reliability of the South African Triage Scale (SATS) tool at the Mahalapye District Hospital - Emergency Department (MDH-ED), a setting where the majority of the nurses were not formally trained on the use of the SATS.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study using case records in MDH-ED from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2014. A panel of experts from the Mahalapye site of the Family Medicine Department, University of Botswana, reviewed and scored each selected case record that was compared with the scores previously attributed to the nurse triage.

The characteristics of HIV and AIDS patients with deep vein thrombosis at Dr. George Mukhari Academic Hospital.

Background: Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is 10 times more prevalent in HIV and AIDS patients than in the general population and is more common in patients with severe immune suppression (CD4 < 200 cells/mL). Opportunistic infections render HIV and AIDS patients susceptible to a hypercoaguable state, including lower protein S levels. AIM AND SETTING: To present the profile of HIV and AIDS patients who developed DVT in the primary care wards of Dr.

Rwandan family medicine residents expanding their training into South Africa: the use of South-South medical electives in enhancing learning experiences.

Background: International medical electives are well-accepted in medical education, with the flow of students generally being North-South. In this article we explore the learning outcomes of Rwandan family medicine residents who completed their final year elective in South Africa. We compare the learning outcomes of this South-South elective to those of North-South electives from the literature.

African Primary Care Research: qualitative data analysis and writing results.

This article is part of a series on African primary care research and gives practical guidance on qualitative data analysis and the presentation of qualitative findings. After an overview of qualitative methods and analytical approaches, the article focuses particularly on content analysis, using the framework method as an example. The steps of familiarisation, creating a thematic index, indexing, charting, interpretation and confirmation are described.

African Primary Care Research: quantitative analysis and presentation of results.

This article is part of a series on Primary Care Research Methods. The article describes types of continuous and categorical data, how to capture data in a spreadsheet, how to use descriptive and inferential statistics and, finally, gives advice on how to present the results in text, figures and tables. The article intends to help Master's level students with writing the data analysis section of their research proposal and presenting their results in their final research report.

African primary care research: performing surveys using questionnaires.

The aim of this article is to provide practical guidance on conducting surveys and the use of questionnaires for postgraduate students at a Masters level who are undertaking primary care research. The article is intended to assist with writing the methods section of the research proposal and thinking through the relevant issues that apply to sample size calculation, sampling strategy, design of a questionnaire and administration of a questionnaire. The articleis part of a larger series on primary care research, with other articles in the series focusing on the structure of the research proposal and the literature review, as well as quantitative data analysis.

Knowledge, attitude and practice regarding lifestyle modification in type 2 diabetic patients.

Background: The number of persons suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus continues to rise worldwide and causes significant morbidity and mortality, especially in the developing world. Behaviour change and adoption of healthy lifestyle habits help to prevent or slow down the complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, the knowledge and practice of healthy lifestyles in many diabetic patients have been inadequate.

Midwifery workforce profile in Limpopo Province referral hospitals.

Background: In sub-Saharan Africa including South Africa, maternal mortality rates remain unacceptably high due to a shortage of registered nurses with advanced midwifery diplomas.

Objective: To determine the profile of registered nurses (RNs) involved in maternity care in public referral hospitals of the Limpopo Province, South Africa.

Method: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in all maternity units of Limpopo's public referral hospitals.