The Pattern of Admission, Clinical Characteristics, and Outcomes Among Patients Admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of a Tertiary Hospital in Tanzania: A 5-Year Retrospective Review.

Introduction: Despite the implementation of complex interventions, ICU mortality remains high and more so in developing countries. The demand for critical care in Sub-Saharan Africa is more than ever before as the region experiences a double burden of rising rates of non-communicable diseases (NCD) in the background battle of combating infectious diseases. Limited studies in Tanzania have reported varying factors associated with markedly high rates of ICU mortality.

A private hospital's approach to treating acute familial Mediterranean fever in Dar es Salaam.

Familial Mediterranean fever is a rare autosomal recessive autoinflammatory disorder prevalent in Middle Eastern populations, characterized by episodic abdominal pain. This case report presents a 34-year-old Egyptian man with severe lower abdominal pain, chest discomfort, and joint pain, along with a positive family history of familial Mediterranean fever but had no previous personal history of this condition. Blood work revealed leukocytosis with neutrophilia and elevated C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate.

Recent Advances in Smart Epidural Spinal Needles.

Lumbar puncture is a minimally invasive procedure that utilizes a spinal needle to puncture the lumbar epidural space to take a sample from the cerebrospinal fluid or inject drugs for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Physicians rely on their expertise to localize epidural space. Due to its critical procedure, the failure rate can reach up to 28%.

Magnitude, Distribution and Contextual Risk Enhancing Predictors of High 10-Year Cardiovascular Risk Among Diabetic Patients in Tanzania.

Introduction: Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide. In Diabetics, ASCVD is associated with poor prognosis and a higher case fatality rate compared with the general population. Sub-Saharan Africa is facing an epidemiological transition with ASCVD being prevalent among young adults.

Outcomes of Surgical Tracheostomy on Mechanically Ventilated COVID-19 Patients Admitted to a Private Tertiary Hospital in Tanzania.

Objectives:  The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in an increase in the number of patients necessitating prolonged mechanical ventilation. Data on patients with COVID-19 undergoing tracheostomy indicating timing and outcomes are very limited. Our study illustrates--- outcomes for surgical tracheotomies performed on COVID-19 patients in Tanzania.

Evaluation of venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk assessment and thrombo-prophylaxis practices in hospitalized medical and surgical patients at Aga Khan Hospital Dar es Salaam: single-centre retrospective study.

Introduction: venous thromboembolism is a complication among admitted medical and surgical patients. International guidelines recommend patients are assessed upon admission and appropriate thromboprophylaxis should be initiated. However, studies have shown that thromboprophylaxis for patients at risk of venous thromboembolism is underutilized.

The cultural differences in the effects of carbon emissions - an EKC analysis.

The postmodernism stance critiques the current discourse of modern consumption-based societies. These societies legitimize their embedded beliefs and actions based on their lifestyle reflected through their consumption patterns. Their consumption patterns relate to carbon footprints that are yet to be explored in the current body of knowledge at the macro level.

Role of globalziation defining the incidence of entrepreneurship.

Globalization boosts the process of market predictions in the pursuit of economic growth. When economic, political, and social forces gain traction by promoting policies and the climate favoring globalization, entrepreneurial results reach out. Policymakers are still searching for a context within which regional policies can be structured to foster long-term entrepreneurship opportunities.

Factors Associated with Mortality Among Hospitalized Adults with COVID-19 Pneumonia at a Private Tertiary Hospital in Tanzania: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: The emergence of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused millions of deaths worldwide. There has been paucity of data for hospitalized African patients suffering from COVID-19. This study aimed to identify factors associated with in-hospital mortality in patients suffering from COVID-19 in Tanzania.

Case Report: Sudden Splenic Rupture in a -Infected Patient.

Spontaneous splenic rupture is a rare and life-threatening complication of severe malaria. It demands particular attention since delayed or missed diagnosis can be potentially fatal. The exact incidence is unknown largely due to underreporting.

Hepatoprotective effects of ethanolic extract of Boerhaavia diffusa against oxaliplatin induced hepatotoxicity in albino rats.

The hepatoprotective effects of Boerhaavia diffusa was studied against the hepatotoxicity induced by oxaliplatin. Male Wistar rats were divided in three groups.Group N* control group (0.

Assesment of predictor variables and clinical consequences associated with surgical site infection in tertiary care setting, Karachi, Pakistan.

Among the well-known Health care-associated infections (HAIs), surgical site infections (SSIs) contribute to considerable high mortality and morbidity rate, substantial prolongation in hospitalization period and extra expenses in terms of treatment cost. This study was aimed to evaluate the predictive variables associated with surgical site infections, and their clinical consequences. This was a prospective, cross sectional study conducted in the surgical department of tertiary care setting in Karachi, Pakistan.

Diagnostic Accuracy of Ultrasound B scan using 10 MHz linear probe in ocular trauma;results from a high burden country.

Objective: To study the diagnostic accuracy of Ultrasound B scan using 10 MHz linear probe in ocular trauma.

Methods: A total of 61 patients with 63 ocular injuries were assessed during July 2013 to January 2014. All patients were referred to the department of Radiology from Emergency Room since adequate clinical assessment of the fundus was impossible because of the presence of opaque ocular media.

DOES VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY CONTRIBUTE TO THE SEVERITY OF ASTHMA IN CHILDREN AND ADULTS?

Role of vitamin D in the health of bones has been well established for over decades; It was known that its deficiency caused rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults. Later it was discovered that these can be corrected by giving vitamin D. Researchers discovered that vitamin D can be synthesized by exposure to sun.

Pericardial fluid and serum biomarkers equally predict ventricular dysfunction.

Background: serum level of amino-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide, a cardiac hormone produced by the heart, is elevated in patients with left ventricular dysfunction. The purpose of this study was to compare the abilities of serum and pericardial fluid levels of amino-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide to detect the left ventricular systolic dysfunction determined by echocardiography.

Methods: 50 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting were included in this study.

Risk of restless legs syndrome in low socioeconomic rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Objectives: Our aim was to determine the frequency of restless leg syndrome (RLS) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients from a low socioeconomic area of Pakistan and compare results with a control group to evaluate the effect of variables on RLS patients.

Methods: A clinical observational study was carried out on 240 RA patients form low socioeconomic group. Controls (n = 210) were frequency-matched by age group to the RA patients.

Accuracy of diagnosis and relationship with quality of emergency medicine training program.

An indicator for emergency room performance is the ability to establish the correct diagnosis within the emergency room over the years. The authors chose to examine the non-congruence of Emergency Room diagnoses to that established after hospital stay for three selected years. A total of 8488 records were reviewed and all disparate diagnosis were recorded and categorized.

Leflunomide or methotrexate? Comparison of clinical efficacy and safety in low socio-economic rheumatoid arthritis patients.

In order to compare the efficacy and toxicity of methotrexate and leflunomide for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, a double-blind randomized clinical trial was carried out at the Department of Medicine, Jinnah Medical College Hospital, Korangi, Karachi. The sample size was 240 patients and the duration of the study was 1 year. The patients enrolled were randomly divided into two groups (methotrexate and leflunomide).

Meiotic recombination generates rich diversity in NK cell receptor genes, alleles, and haplotypes.

Natural killer (NK) cells contribute to the essential functions of innate immunity and reproduction. Various genes encode NK cell receptors that recognize the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) Class I molecules expressed by other cells. For primate NK cells, the killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) are a variable and rapidly evolving family of MHC Class I receptors.

Unusual selection on the KIR3DL1/S1 natural killer cell receptor in Africans.

Interactions of killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) with major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I ligands diversify natural killer cell responses to infection. By analyzing sequence variation in diverse human populations, we show that the KIR3DL1/S1 locus encodes two lineages of polymorphic inhibitory KIR3DL1 allotypes that recognize Bw4 epitopes of protein">HLA-A and HLA-B and one lineage of conserved activating KIR3DS1 allotypes, also implicated in Bw4 recognition. Balancing selection has maintained these three lineages for over 3 million years.

The burden of anxiety and depression among patients with chronic rheumatologic disorders at a tertiary care hospital clinic in Karachi, Pakistan.

Objectives: To study the burden of anxiety and depression as a comorbid among patients of chronic rheumatological disorders and to investigate possible determinants of depression and anxiety.

Methods: It was a cross-sectional study conducted at the rheumatology clinic of The Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) Karachi, Pakistan. With convenient sampling, 111 patients who fulfilled inclusion/exclusion criteria were screened for anxiety and depression with help of Aga Khan University Anxiety and Depression Scale (AKUADS).

Using UMLS metathesaurus concepts to describe medical images: dermatology vocabulary.

Web servers at the National Library of Medicine (NLM) displayed images of ten skin lesions to practicing dermatologists and provided an online form for capturing text they used to describe the pictures. The terms were submitted to the UMLS Metathesaurus (Meta). Concepts retrieved, their semantic types, definitions and synonyms, were returned to each subject in a second web-based form.

Ventricular tachycardia: a hospital perspective.

Objective: To describe the etiology and outcome in patients with ventricular tachycardia in our patient population.

Design: A descriptive study.

Place And Duration Of Study: The study was conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital from November 2002 to October 2003.

Characteristics and outcome of chest pain in young adults.

Objective: To estimate the frequency of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) at 30 days in patients less than 40 years of age reporting with acute chest pain in Emergency Department (ED).

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Place And Duration Of Study: Emergency Department (ED) of Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi between July to December 2002.