[Cephalic tetanus and Bell's palsy in an elderly man].

Cephalic tetanus is a rare form of tetanus defined as trismus plus paralysis of one or more cranial nerves. The seventh cranial nerve is most commonly involved. The process can remain localized, or become generalized.

Predictors of stroke - associated mortality in Africans.

Background: The objective of the study was to examine the association of the stroke-related mortality with gender, age, ethnicity, social class, blood pressure, fibrinogen, selected clinical data and meteorologic parameters in hospitalized Africans.

Methods: A series of 1032 consecutively hospitalized incident cases of acute stroke between 1987 and 1991 was studied. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to estimate the risk (odds ratio=OR) of stroke mortality for meteorologic parameters on the month before the accident onset and selected sociodemophysiological variables on the day of admission.

Hematocrit and stroke in black Africans under tropical climate and meteorological influence.

Objectives: To assess the relationship between hematocrit and risk of fatal and non-fatal stroke in conjunction with meteorological variations.

Design: Prospective study of a series of Africans living in Kinshasa, Congo, followed up for 5 years.

Subjects: A total of 1,032 unselected patients consecutively admitted to hospitals for acute stroke.

Assessment of ventricular diastolic function in AIDS patients from Congo: a Doppler echocardiographic study.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of left ventricular dysfunction in African patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The hypothesis was that HIV infected patients with left ventricular dysfunction are asymptomatic.

Methods: M mode, cross sectional, and Doppler echocardiography were performed in 49 consecutive patients (30 HIV positive (HIV+) carriers and 19 AIDS patients).

[HIV infection and pericardial disease invasion in Africa].

The number of cases with pericardial disease has been increasing in Africa and particularly in Zäire, after AIDS was defined. To investigate a possible link between HIV infection and risen incidence of pericardial effusions, 64 patients randomly selected (32 HIV carriers and 32 HIV-seronegative as controls), with suspected pericardial disease were studied in a longitudinal trial from January 1991 to December 1994. Central and accessory cells of immune system were measured in conjunction with blood screening, electrocardiogram (ECG), chest X-ray and cardiac ultrasound.