Adherence to Preoperative Fasting Guidelines in Elective Surgical Patients.

Introduction: Preoperative fasting is recommended by international guidelines as a means to minimize the risk of aspiration of gastric content during induction of anesthesia or surgery. Prolonged preoperative fasting is, however, discouraged due to the associated side effects such as dehydration and electrolyte imbalance, which can negatively impact recovery after surgery. An initial quality improvement study revealed poor implementation of the best practice guidelines on preoperative fasting in three departments of a hospital and an institutional action plan was devised to enforce adherence to these guidelines.

Psychological distress of Ghanaian couples after unsuccessful treatment for infertility.

Objective: The main objective of the study was to assess psychological distress and to identify any gender specific differences in the psychological distress among infertile couples after one year of unsuccessful pharmacotherapy.

Design: A descriptive cross-sectional study.

Setting: The study was conducted in four fertility clinics in the Cape Coast Metropolis.

Compliance and adherence to hand hygiene practices for effective infection control.

Hand hygiene (HH) is the most effective way to curb the spread of healthcare-associated infections. Nonetheless, healthcare personnel encounter difficulties in adhering to WHO HH recommendations. This study aimed to investigate HH compliance and adherence after the implementation of an action plan in a municipal hospital in Moscow.

Effects of prenatal antibiotic treatment on early infant health: a retrospective study in a rural health facility in Ghana.

Background: Infant mortality remains a major developmental challenge in many low-income countries. Epidemiological evidence suggests that infant acquisition of maternal microbiome is essential for programming of immunity and metabolism. As such, irrational maternal antibiotic use may affect infant health.

Pharmacotherapy for Infertility in Ghana: A Prospective Study on Prescription Patterns and Treatment Outcomes among Women undergoing Fertility Treatment.

Background: Pharmacotherapy remains a first-line and major treatment option for couples struggling with infertility, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where other expensive alternatives are rarely available. Despite the reliance on pharmacotherapy for treating infertility in the subregion, especially for those diagnosed with unexplained infertility, little is known about the actual influence of drug therapies on conception.

Objectives: The study aimed to prospectively assess the prescription patterns and outcomes of pharmacotherapy for women undergoing fertility treatment in Ghana.

Season, storage and extraction method impact on the phytochemical profile of Terminalia ivorensis.

Background: Terminalia ivorensis (TI) is used in West African ethnomedicine for the treatment of conditions including ulcers, malaria and wounds. Despite its widespread use, the phytochemical profile of TI remains largely undetermined. This research investigated the effects of extraction method, season, and storage conditions on the phytochemical composition of TI to contribute towards understanding the potential benefits.

Pharmacotherapy of infertility in Ghana: Why do infertile patients discontinue their fertility treatment?

Background: Globally, millions of people of reproductive age experience infertility. With that notwithstanding, most infertile patients undergoing pharmacotherapy withdraw from treatment before achieving the desired outcome. The reasons for their withdrawal, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, have not been well examined, hence the need for this study.

Assessment of knowledge, practices, and barriers to pharmacovigilance among nurses at a teaching hospital, Ghana: a cross‑sectional study.

Background: Pharmacovigilance may be defined as the continuous monitoring of the reaction between a drug agent or combination of drugs a patient took and steps taken to prevent any associated risk. Clinical trials conducted before drug approval cannot uncover every aspect of the health hazards of approved drugs. People with carefully selected characteristics are monitored for the safety and efficacy of the drug; hence, common adverse drug reactions (ADRs) following proper use of the medication can be detected.

Fruits of sweet: toxicity profile, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities, and quantification of one of its bioactive constituents oleanolic acid.

Background: Sweet fruit, an under-utilised crop specie of Ghana, has not been validated for its ethnomedical use in managing inflammatory conditions. Therefore, the study sought to investigate its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities as well as isolate and quantify one of its active constituents.

Materials And Methods: anti-inflammatory activity of the methanol fruit extract was evaluated using the carrageenan-induced oedema model in chicks.

Mechanisms of ivermectin-induced wound healing.

Background: Wounds cause structural and functional discontinuity of an organ. Wound healing, therefore, seeks to re-establish the normal morphology and functionality through intertwined stages of hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and tissue remodelling. Ivermectin, a macrolide, has been used as an endectoparasiticide in human and veterinary medicine practice for decades.

Antiplasmodial and Antipyretic Activity and Safety Evaluation of the Methanolic Leaf Extract of .

Background: The increasing mortality and morbidity of malaria in Africa coupled with the recent reports of antimalarial drug resistance reinforces the need for novel antimalarial agents from natural plant products with folkloric use for the disease. (Rutaceae) is widely used as an ornamental plant used indigenously to treat fever, cough, and infectious wounds and eliminate pain from injury and trauma. This study was conducted to evaluate extracts of the leaves of (Rutaceae) for its safety and antipyretic and antimalarial activity in rodent models.

Pharmacotherapy of infertility in Ghana: retrospective study at the cape coast teaching hospital.

Background: Infertility is a major challenge for couples globally. Due to low income levels and the high cost of other assisted reproductive techniques, pharmacotherapy remain the major first line treatment option for infertility in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of infertility as well as the effectiveness and success achieved following infertility pharmacotherapy at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital in Ghana.

Cryptolepine, the Main Alkaloid of the Antimalarial (Lindl.) Schlechter, Induces Malformations in Zebrafish Embryos.

Background: Previous studies on cryptolepine, the antimalarial and cytotoxic alkaloid of , showed that it preferentially accumulates in rapidly proliferating cells and melanin-containing tissues. Subsequently, we demonstrated that cryptolepine was toxic to murine embryos but no signs of teratogenicity. developmental studies can be confounded by maternal effects.

In vitro anti-malarial interaction and gametocytocidal activity of cryptolepine.

Background: Discovery of novel gametocytocidal molecules is a major pharmacological strategy in the elimination and eradication of malaria. The high patronage of the aqueous root extract of the popular West African anti-malarial plant Cryptolepis sanguinolenta (Periplocaceae) in traditional and hospital settings in Ghana has directed this study investigating the gametocytocidal activity of the plant and its major alkaloid, cryptolepine. This study also investigates the anti-malarial interaction of cryptolepine with standard anti-malarials, as the search for new anti-malarial combinations continues.

Antibiotic use during pregnancy: a retrospective study of prescription patterns and birth outcomes at an antenatal clinic in rural Ghana.

Background: Babies are increasingly being exposed to antibiotics intrapartum in the bid to reduce neonatal and maternal deaths. Intrapartum antibiotic exposure, including even those considered safe in pregnancy, have been associated with childhood obesity and compromised immunity. Data on the extent of antibiotic use, safety and its impact on birth outcomes and neonatal health in Sub-Saharan Africa is very limited.

Phytochemical and Pharmacological Review of (Lindl.) Schlechter.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: is a scrambling thin-stemmed shrub found in Africa. Traditionally in West Africa, it is employed in the treatment of malaria, diarrhea, and respiratory conditions. This review discusses the traditional importance as well as the phytochemical, ethnomedical, pharmacological, and toxicological importance of this plant.

Irrational use of antibiotics and the risk of diabetes in Ghana.

Unlabelled: Epidemiological studies show clearly that Caesarean birth, perinatal or neonatal irrational antibiotic use is strongly associated with increased risk of obesity and diabetes in later life. Irrational use of antibiotics is a great global public health concern especially in developing economies like Ghana due to poor regulation on medicines. Unfortunately, this concern has been reduced to the fear of development of resistant organisms and the destruction of the world's limited range of antibiotics therapy at the expense of other insidious risks including the development of metabolic and atopic diseases.

Assessment of an ethanolic seed extract of Picralima nitida ([Stapf] Th. and H. Durand) on reproductive hormones and its safety for use.

Background: Picralima nitida seed extract (PNE) has aphrodisiac and contraceptive effect.

Aim: To investigate the effect of PNE on reproductive hormones.

Materials And Methods: The size and length of the combs of white leghorn day-old chicks treated with testosterone (0.

Toxicity assessment of and .

and are found growing in tropical regions and they are used in African traditional medicine to treat various ailments including wounds, boils and anaemic conditions. Some species of plant in the genus are also known to be poisonous and toxic to several livestock. However, there is no information on the toxicity of and .

Evaluation of Antimicrobial and Wound Healing Potential of Justicia flava and Lannea welwitschii.

Microbial infections of various types of wounds are a challenge to the treatment of wounds and wound healing. The aim of the study is to determine the antimicrobial, antioxidant, and in vivo wound healing properties of methanol leaf extracts of Justicia flava and Lannea welwitschii. The antimicrobial activity was investigated using agar well diffusion and microdilution methods.

Antimicrobial, Antioxidant, and Wound Healing Properties of Kigelia africana (Lam.) Beneth. and Strophanthus hispidus DC.

Microbial infections of various types of wounds are a challenge to the treatment of wounds and wound healing. The study was to investigate antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of methanol leaf and stem bark extracts of Kigelia africana and methanol leaf and root extracts of Strophanthus hispidus and also to determine wound healing properties of the extracts. The antimicrobial activities of the methanol extracts were determined against two Gram-positive and two Gram-negative bacteria and a fungus using agar diffusion and micro-dilution methods.

Antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties of Funtumia elastica.

Context: Funtumia elastica (Preuss) Stapf. (Apocynaceae) has a long ethnopharmacological history for uses such as treatment of whooping cough, asthma, blennorhea, painful menstruation, fungal infections, and wounds.

Objective: To investigate the antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties of ethanol extracts from the leaves and stem bark of Funtumia elastica based on its ethnopharmacological uses and also determine the secondary metabolites present in the extracts.

Antimicrobial and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Pterygota macrocarpa and Cola gigantea (Sterculiaceae).

Pterygota macrocarpa and Cola gigantea are African medicinal plants used in traditional medicine for the treatment of sores, skin infections, and other inflammatory conditions including pains. This study therefore aims at investigating the antimicrobial properties of ethanol leaf and stem bark extracts of P. macrocarpa and C.