Prevalence and determinants of chronic respiratory diseases in adults in rural Sudan.

Chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) greatly contribute to worldwide mortality. Despite new data emerging from Africa, prevalence estimates and determinants of CRDs in rural settings are limited. This study sought to extend the existing research conducted in urban Sudan by conducting a rural comparison.

A comparison of smartphone and paper data-collection tools in the Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) study in Gezira state, Sudan.

Introduction: Data collection using paper-based questionnaires can be time consuming and return errors affect data accuracy, completeness, and information quality in health surveys. We compared smartphone and paper-based data collection systems in the Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) study in rural Sudan.

Methods: This exploratory pilot study was designed to run in parallel with the cross-sectional household survey.

Community prevalence of chronic respiratory symptoms in rural Malawi: Implications for policy.

Background: No community prevalence studies have been done on chronic respiratory symptoms of cough, wheezing and shortness of breath in adult rural populations in Malawi. Case detection rates of tuberculosis (TB) and chronic airways disease are low in resource-poor primary health care facilities.

Objective: To understand the prevalence of chronic respiratory symptoms and recorded diagnoses of TB in rural Malawian adults in order to improve case detection and management of these diseases.

The effect of engaging unpaid informal providers on case detection and treatment initiation rates for TB and HIV in rural Malawi (Triage Plus): A cluster randomised health system intervention trial.

Background: The poor face barriers in accessing services for tuberculosis (TB) and Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV) disease. A cluster randomised trial was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of engaging unpaid informal providers (IPs) to promote access in a rural district. The intervention consisted of training unpaid IPs in TB and HIV disease recognition, sputum specimen collection, appropriate referrals, and raising community awareness.

Informal Health Provider and Practical Approach to Lung Health interventions to improve the detection of chronic airways disease and tuberculosis at primary care level in Malawi: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Background: In developing countries like Malawi, further investigation is rare after patients with chronic cough test negative for tuberculosis. Chronic airways disease has presentations that overlap with tuberculosis. However, chronic airways disease is often unrecognised due to a lack of diagnostic services.

A systematic assessment of the concept and practice of public-private mix for tuberculosis care and control.

Introduction: The STOP TB Partnership aims to improve global tuberculosis (TB) control through expanding access to the directly observed treatment short course (DOTS) strategy. One approach to this is 'Engaging all Care Providers', which evolved from 'Public-Private Mix (PPM) DOTS'. The overall aim of this study was to systematically assess whether and to what degree the STOP TB Partnership's four global objectives of engaging all care providers are met through existing PPM interventions.

Can public-private collaboration promote tuberculosis case detection among the poor and vulnerable?

Private-public mix (PPM) DOTS is widely advocated as a DOTS adaptation for promoting progress towards the international tuberculosis (TB) control targets of detecting 70% of TB cases and successfully treating 85% of these. Private health care plays a central role in health-care provision in many developing countries that have a high burden of TB. It is therefore encouraging that PPM projects are being set up in various countries around the world to explore possible interaction between the national TB programmes and other partners in the fight against TB.

Cardiovascular risk factors in treated hypertensives--a nation-wide, cross-sectional study in Sweden.

Hypertensive patients still face a considerable risk of cardiovascular disease in spite of drug treatment in many studies. This may partly be explained by metabolic disturbances, both primarily linked to hypertension but also secondarily influenced by anti-hypertensive drugs themselves. In order to evaluate residual cardiovascular risk factors we investigated 1915 treated hypertensives (912 males, 1003 females) attending 128 health centres from all parts of Sweden.

Long-term blood pressure control with pindolol given once daily.

The antihypertensive effect of beta-adrenoceptor blocking drugs has been documented in a number of papers [10--13] and over the last 10 yr beta-receptor blockade has become a more and more frequent primary therapy for hypertension. During this time, a number of different beta-blockers with various degrees of selectivity, potency and intrinsic sympathomimetic effect have come into use. There have also been attempts to reduce the number of daily doses in beta-adrenoceptor blocking therapy while maintaining the antihypertensive effect [5].

Detection, treatment and follow-up of hypertension in a community sample of 55-year-old men.

In connection with a population study including 703 randomly selected 55-year-old men, 20 men with the highest blood pressure were selected for a careful follow-up and treatment for 1 year. Controls without hypertension were randomly selected from the remainder of the same population. Electrocardiogram at rest and in connection with an exercise test, changes in fundus oculi, orthostatic tests, peripheral arterial blood flow, chemical analyses and other variables were recorded on three occasions during the observation year.