Outcome of non-traumatic coma in a tertiary referral hospital in Cameroon.

Introduction: Coma is a medical emergency, and optimal management, especially in a resource-poor setting, depends on knowledge of its aetiology and predictors of outcome. This study aimed to provide hospital-based data on the prevalence, etiology, and outcome of non traumatic coma (NTC) in adults at a tertiary level in Cameroon.

Methods: A three year retrospective cohort study of medical records of patients aged 18 years and above, who presented in coma of non-traumatic origin at a Cameroon emergency department (ED) was conducted.

Diagnosis and treatment challenges of autism spectrum disorder at a reference hospital in Douala, Cameroon.

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disability associated with deficiency in social interaction, unusual development of social communication, and restricted or repetitive behaviors, interests and activities. This study aimed to describe management of pediatric ASD in Cameroon, a resource-constrained Central Africa country.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted between December 2021 and May 2022 at the Pediatrics department of a reference hospital in the town of Douala.

[Neuropsychiatric manifestations in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: about 108 cases in Cameroon].

Few data on neuropsychiatric disorders in systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE) are available in sub-Saharan Africa. The purpose of this study was to determine their frequency and describe their features in Cameroon. We conducted a retrospective study collecting all the medical records of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) hospitalized in the department of rheumatology of 3 hospitals in Cameroon from 2009 to 2019.

Fungal Burden and Raised Intracranial Pressure Are Independently Associated With Visual Loss in Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Associated Cryptococcal Meningitis.

Among 472 patients with human immunodeficiency virus-associated cryptococcal meningitis, 16% had severe visual loss at presentation, and 46% of these were 4-week survivors and remained severely impaired. Baseline cerebrospinal fluid opening pressure ≥40 cmHO (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.56; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.

Estimation and determinants of direct medical costs of ischaemic heart disease, stroke and hypertensive heart disease: evidence from two major hospitals in Cameroon.

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the largest contributor to the non-communicable diseases (NCD) burden in Cameroon, but data on its economic burden is lacking.

Methods: A prevalence-based cost-of-illness study was conducted from a healthcare provider perspective and enrolled patients with ischaemic heart disease (IHD), ischaemic stroke, haemorrhagic stroke and hypertensive heart disease (HHD) from two major hospitals between 2013 and 2017. Determinants of cost were explored using multivariate generalized linear models.

The prognostic value of serum uric acid in the acute phase of hemorrhagic stroke patients in black Africans.

Introduction: Very few studies have been conducted to evaluate the prevalence of hyperuricemia and its impact on the prognosis amongst acute hemorrhagic stroke (AHS) patients. The objectives was to determine the prevalence of hyperuricemia in AHS patients and examined the association between hyperuricemia and stroke outcomes in the Douala General Hospital (DGH).

Methods: This was a hospital based prospective cohort which included AHS patients with baseline SUA levels and 3 months post stroke follow-up data.

Prevalence and risk factors of peripheral artery disease in black Africans with HIV infection: a cross-sectional hospital-based study.

Background: The prevalence of peripheral artery disease (PAD) is not well known among HIV-infected patients in Africa. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and associated risk factors of PAD among HIV-infected patients at the Douala General Hospital (DGH).

Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive and analytic study between November 2015 and April 2016.

Prevalence and Associated Factors of Chronic Kidney Disease Among Patients Infected With Human Immunodeficiency Virus in Cameroon.

Introduction: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is frequent amongst human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients, and screening is not routinely performed in Sub-Saharan Africa due to resource constraints. We aimed to determine the prevalence of CKD and associated factors in HIV-infected patients in Cameroon.

Materials And Methods: A cross-sectional study in Northern Cameroon included HIV-positive patients who attended the HIV clinic.

Leave no one behind: response to new evidence and guidelines for the management of cryptococcal meningitis in low-income and middle-income countries.

In 2018, WHO issued guidelines for the diagnosis, prevention, and management of HIV-related cryptococcal disease. Two strategies are recommended to reduce the high mortality associated with HIV-related cryptococcal meningitis in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs): optimised combination therapies for confirmed meningitis cases and cryptococcal antigen screening programmes for ambulatory people living with HIV who access care. WHO's preferred therapy for the treatment of HIV-related cryptococcal meningitis in LMICs is 1 week of amphotericin B plus flucytosine, and the alternative therapy is 2 weeks of fluconazole plus flucytosine.

Acute Stroke Patients with Newly Diagnosed Diabetes Mellitus Have Poorer Outcomes than Those with Previously Diagnosed Diabetes Mellitus.

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with poor outcomes in acute stroke patients (ASPs). This study aims to determine the prevalence of NDDM in the ASPs and to compare the outcome in NDDM and previously diagnosed DM (PDDM) in Cameroon.

Methods And Materials: This was a hospital-based prospective cohort study that included ASPs with NDDM and PDDM.

Multiple cerebral infarction revealing Takayasu's disease: a case report in a 32-year-old man from Cameroon, sub-Saharan Africa.

This case suggests that young patients with few vascular risk factors, and who present with acute stroke syndrome involving more than one vascular territory should be screened for an inflammatory or infectious cause.

Antifungal Combinations for Treatment of Cryptococcal Meningitis in Africa.

Background: Cryptococcal meningitis accounts for more than 100,000 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related deaths per year. We tested two treatment strategies that could be more sustainable in Africa than the standard of 2 weeks of amphotericin B plus flucytosine and more effective than the widely used fluconazole monotherapy.

Methods: We randomly assigned HIV-infected adults with cryptococcal meningitis to receive an oral regimen (fluconazole [1200 mg per day] plus flucytosine [100 mg per kilogram of body weight per day] for 2 weeks), 1 week of amphotericin B (1 mg per kilogram per day), or 2 weeks of amphotericin B (1 mg per kilogram per day).

Gender-Related Differences and Short-Term Outcome of Stroke: Results from a Hospital-Based Registry in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: Studies suggest that sex differences have an impact on patients with stroke, but existing data in Africa remain inconclusive about this inference.

Objectives: To study sex differences in terms of the clinical profile and short-term outcome of stroke in the Douala General Hospital, Cameroon.

Methods: A hospital-based prospective cohort study was carried out in a tertiary care hospital over an 8-year period, which included all patients admitted for confirmed acute stroke.

The Prognostic Value of Serum Uric Acid in the Acute Phase of Ischemic Stroke in Black Africans.

Background: The association between hyperuricemia and stroke outcome still remains controversial worldwide. This study aims to determine the prevalence of hyperuricemia and its association with the outcome of patients with acute ischemic stroke in a tertiary care hospital.

Methods: This was a hospital-based prospective cohort study that included patients with ischemic stroke with baseline uric acid levels and 3-month post-stroke follow-up data.

Serum Uric Acid Is Associated with Poor Outcome in Black Africans in the Acute Phase of Stroke.

Background: Prognostic significance of serum uric acid (SUA) in acute stroke still remains controversial.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of hyperuricemia and its association with outcome of stroke patients in the Douala General Hospital (DGH).

Methods: This was a hospital based prospective cohort study which included acute stroke patients with baseline SUA levels and 3-month poststroke follow-up data.

Overweight and obesity in children aged 3-13 years in urban Cameroon: a cross-sectional study of prevalence and association with socio-economic status.

Background: Childhood overweight/obesity is increasing rapidly in developing countries. There is a need to provide more evidence on its burden in sub-Saharan Africa, and to identify associated factors in order to set preventive measures. We aimed to determine the prevalence of overweight/obesity and assess its association with the socioeconomic status in nursery and primary school children in urban Cameroon.

Sero-prevalence and Correlates of Hepatitis B and C Co-infection Among HIV-infected Individuals in Two Regional Hospitals in Cameroon.

Background: Liver disease related to Hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) infection has become a major cause of morbidity and mortality in HIV/AIDS patients. Data on the prevalence of HBV and HCV in Cameroon remains inconclusive.

Objective: We aimed to determine the sero-prevalence and correlates of Hepatitis markers in HIV/AIDS patients in two Regional Hospitals.

[Incidence of strokes in HIV-positive patients treated with long term antiretroviral treatment].

Introduction: With the introduction of triple therapy regimen in 1996, the morbidity and mortality associated with HIV infection decreased significantly. Concomitantly with this clinical success, several metabolic changes including diabetes, arterial hypertension, dyslipidemia and lipodystrophy were observed, being associated with the risk of stroke. This study aims to determine the incidence of strokes in HIV-positive patients treated with long term antiretroviral treatment.

Cross-sectional assessment of three commonly used measures of adherence to combination antiviral therapy in a resource limited setting.

Nowadays, global coverage of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has increased due to a continuous process to scale up access. This increase has potentially transformed HIV-infection from a fatal to a chronic disease: a transformation only possible if the prescribed medications are taken accordingly. We therefore evaluated optimal adherence to cART by three commonly used methods: visual analogue scale (VAS), four days recall (FDR) and clinic attendance (CA) for the last six months in 301 HIV-infected patients on cART for at least six months at the Douala General Hospital, Cameroon.

The way forward for clinical research in Cameroon: first scientific and research day in Douala, 2014.

There is a huge need for health research to support contextually relevant health service and policy solutions to better the health of populations in sub-Saharan Africa. This need contrasts with the very timid engagement of healthcare practitioners in research in the region.It is against this background that the Douala General Hospital (a tertiary-care hospital in Cameroon), under the stewardship of its chief executive officer, organised the first annual scientific and research day in October 2014.

Comparison of the clinical profile of Parkinson's disease between Spanish and Cameroonian cohorts.

Background: There are limited data in terms of the clinical profile of Parkinson's disease in sub-Saharan African patients.

Objective: To compare the clinical profile and access to standard antiparkinsonian therapies of a Cameroonian cohort of patients with an age, sex, and disease duration-matched Spanish cohort (Longitudinal Study of Parkinson's disease, ELEP).

Methods: Observational, cross-sectional design.

Cryptococcal meningoencephalitis in human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in douala, cameroon: a cross sectional study.

Background: Cryptococcal meningoencephalitis (CM) kills about half a million human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients per year, mostly in Africa.

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, clinical presentation and in-hospital outcome of CM among HIV-infected patients in Douala.

Materials And Methods: A cross-sectional clinical note review of 672 HIV-1 patients' files admitted from January 1 (st) 2004 to December 31 (st) 2009 at the Internal Medicine unit of the Douala General Hospital, Cameroon was performed.