Bowel function after anterior rectal resection for cancer: short and long-term prospective evaluation with low anterior rectal syndrome (LARS) score in a cohort of Cameroonian patients.

Introduction: bowel dysfunction is the most common and disabling complication after anterior rectal resection (ARR) for cancer. We aimed to evaluate these complications in a cohort of Cameroonian patients, using the low anterior rectal syndrome (LARS) score.

Methods: we conducted a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study, in two university hospitals of Yaoundé (Cameroon).

Ventricular restoration in adults with huge congenital left ventricular aneurysm: report of two cases.

Congenital ventricular aneurysms (CVA) are rare cardiac anomalies that have been predominantly described in the Black population. They are characterized by an akinetic ventricular protrusion that is commonly located at the basal and apical segments. Although the diagnosis is often incidental and the majority of patients are asymptomatic, life-threatening events such as persistent ventricular arrhythmias, CVA rupture, and heart failure are not uncommon.

Prevalence, clinical presentation, and risk factors of chronic venous disease in Cameroon: A general population-based study.

Introduction: Chronic venous disease is a global public health problem, with high morbidity and economic distress. There is scarcity of data on this disease in sub-Saharan Africa.

Methods: We conducted the first population-based study over a period of 20 months from 1st February 2020 to 30th September 2021 in the 10 regions of Cameroon.

Aortic root enlargement in patients undergoing mitral and aortic replacement: early outcomes in a sub-Saharan population.

Introduction: Aortic root enlargement (ARE) is often required to avoid patient-prosthesis mismatch (PPM) in young patients undergoing aortic surgery, including those undergoing combined mitral and aortic valve replacement (double valve replacement, DVR). Adding ARE to DVR may increase the operative risk by extending the surgical time. Herein, we review our experience with ARE in patients who underwent DVR.

Composite aortic root replacement in African patients with type A aortic dissection: report of 12 cases.

Type A aortic dissection (TAAD) is associated with high mortality in the absence of appropriate surgical therapy. The involvement of the aortic root by the intimal tear and the presence of severe aortic insufficiency will require a more radical approach with composite root replacement (CRR) in most of the patients. We briefly report our surgical experience following CRR in 12 patients presenting with TAAD in our department.

Prevalence and factors associated with substance use among students in tertiary institutions in Buea, Cameroon.

Introduction: substance use is a major global public health problem. About 5.6% of the global population aged 15-64 years consumed a drug at least once in 2016.

Cardiac Surgery Development in Cameroon: Unexpected Challenges From a Socio-Political Crisis.

Despite the alarming and growing burden of cardiovascular diseases in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), there is still a huge lack of specialised institutions in the region with a mean of one cardio-surgical unit for 33 million inhabitants. Despite the numerous efforts from humanitarian organisations made in recent years, the setting up of cardio-surgical units in the region remains challenging with regards to long-term sustainability. Indeed, besides the lack of financial resources, the insufficient local expertise in addition to the inadequate health infrastructure, unpredictable threats from external factors such as recurrent conflicts and humanitarian crises are still major concerns in an environment characterised by endemic socio-political instability.

The effect of subsidized malaria treatment among under-five children in the Buea Health District, Cameroon.

Introduction: Access to free diagnoses and treatments has been shown to be a major determinant in malaria control. The Cameroon government launched in 2011 and 2014 the exemption of the under-fives' simple and severe malaria treatment policy to increase access to health care and reduce inequality, so as to reduce the mortality related to malaria among the under-fives. This study assessed the effect of providing free malaria treatment in the Buea health district.

Acquisition of Surgical Skills by Final-Year Medical Students in State-Owned Medical Schools of Cameroon: Are We Doing Any Good?

Introduction: World Health Organization recommends that basic surgical care be administered at the district level. In the absence of qualified surgeons, general practitioners are sometimes proposed to bridge the gap. Medical curricula in low- and middle-income countries must be designed accordingly.

Prevalence and risk factors of gestational diabetes mellitus in a population of pregnant women attending three health facilities in Limbe, Cameroon: a cross-sectional study.

Introduction: There are few studies regarding gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in the South West Region of Cameroon. We aimed at determining the prevalence and risk factors of GDM in three health facilities in the Limbe health district, Cameroon.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in one secondary, and two primary healthcare facilities in Limbe, Cameroon during the period 1 November 2016 to 31 January 2017.

Uterine fibroids in pregnancy: prevalence, clinical presentation, associated factors and outcomes at the Limbe and Buea Regional Hospitals, Cameroon: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: Uterine fibroids are common among the black race and associated with adverse outcomes in pregnancy. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, clinical presentation and maternal and foetal outcomes of birth among pregnant women with leiomyoma in two secondary care hospitals in Limbe and Buea, Cameroon.

Results: The prevalence of fibroid in pregnancy was 16.

Multidrug resistant Proteus mirabilis and Escherichia coli causing fulminant necrotising fasciitis: a case report.

Background: Necrotizing fasciitis is a rare soft tissue infection characterized by rapid progressive necrosis with relative sparing of underlying muscles. This case is reported to highlight the emergence of multidrug resistant microbes in recent days which limits the use of empiric antibiotic therapy and necessitates early cultures and sensitivity enabling targeted antibiotic therapy. Factors that lead to antimicrobial resistance especially in sub-Saharan Africa have also been discussed.

Posterior urethral valves: 10 years audit of epidemiologic, diagnostic and therapeutic aspects in Yaoundé gynaeco-obstetric and paediatric hospital.

Background: The incidence of posterior urethral valve (PUV) is estimated at 1:5000-1:8000 males. It is the most common paediatric urologic urgency and the most common cause of male obstructive uropathy and chronic renal failure in children. The study aimed to describe the experience of Yaoundé gynaeco-obstetrics and paediatric hospital in the management of PUV.

Infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis: a 4-year experience from two tertiary care centres in Cameroon.

Objective: This study aimed to describe the clinical characteristics of patients with infantile hypertrophic stenosis, management and its outcome in two tertiary care centres in Cameroon.

Results: A total of 21 patients were included from the two centres. The mean age at presentation was 5.

Which cause of diffuse peritonitis is the deadliest in the tropics? A retrospective analysis of 305 cases from the South-West Region of Cameroon.

Background: Acute diffuse peritonitis is a common surgical emergency worldwide and a major contributor to non-trauma related death toll. Its causes vary widely and are correlated with mortality. Community acquired peritonitis seems to play a major role and is frequently related to hollow viscus perforation.

Anemia in type 2 diabetic patients and correlation with kidney function in a tertiary care sub-Saharan African hospital: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Anemia is common in diabetic patients and increases morbidity and mortality, but its burden has been less well characterized in sub-Saharan Africans. We determined the prevalence of anemia and investigated the related factors, with a particular focus on the role of declining renal function, in type 2 diabetic patients attending a tertiary health care institution in Cameroon.

Methods: Hemoglobin (Hb) levels were measured in a consecutive sample of patients with type 2 diabetes, who reported for annual review at the outpatient section of the Douala General Hospital in 2013.

Risk Factors of Cardiovascular Diseases in HIV/AIDS Patients on HAART.

Background: The introduction and widespread use of combination antiretroviral therapy referred to as highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in the mid 1990's, has led HIV-infected individuals to experience a dramatic decline in immunodeficiency-related events and death. There is growing concern on metabolic complications associated with HIV and HAART which may increase cardiovascular risk and disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the cardiovascular risk profile of HIV/AIDS patients receiving HAART and those not receiving HAART at HIV/AIDS treatment centres in the South West Region of Cameroon.

A prospective pilot cohort analysis of crash characteristics and pattern of injuries in riders and pillion passengers involved in motorcycle crashes in an urban area in Cameroon: lessons for prevention.

Background: Low and middle-income countries carry over ninety per cent of the burden of injury related mortality and disability. Motorcycles are gradually becoming a major mode of transportation in Cameroon and other African countries in the absence of an organized public transport. Consequently, the contribution of motorcycle crash to injury-related deaths seems to be on the rise.

Highly active antiretroviral therapy and dyslipidemia in people living with HIV/AIDS in Fako Division, South West Region of Cameroon.

Background: The advent of HAART has been associated with a profound reduction in morbidity and mortality from HIV/AIDS. However, side effects and toxicities associated with HAART may lead to an increased risk for cardiovascular diseases. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of dyslipidemia and determining factors of derangements in lipid profile associated with the use of HAART regimens in people living with HIV/AIDS in Fako Division of the South West Region of 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.

A Rare Presentation of Maydl's Hernia.

We present a case of an unsual type of obstructed indirect inguinal hernia with impending strangulation. The operative findings revealed a sliding Maydl's hernia with an ischemic inner ileal loop and an adherent inflamed appendix. This case highlights the importance of intraoperative examination of the intra-abdominal bowel loops proximal to the hernia sac of an incarcerated, obstructed, or strangulated hernia.

Intestinal metaplasia and anastomotic recurrence of gastric carcinoma.

Intestinal metaplasia (IM) of the stomach has been shown to increase the relative risk of gastric cancer. Endoscopic surveillance has been proposed and advocated for populations at risk. Those patients who had undergone surgery for gastric malignancy exhibited precancerous lesions such as atrophic gastritis and IM, and the possibility of anastomotic recurrence is higher than for the patients who had undergone benign gastric surgery.

Hypertrophic pyloric stenosis in infants: is it a congenital or acquired disorder? Reflections on 2 cases.

Based on evidence from two collected and treated clinical observations of hypertrophic pyloric stenosis in children of 5 and 12 months of age, the authors give their point of view on the unresolved issue of the etiology of hypertrophic pyloric stenosis. They emphasize that there are more and more factors to prove this is an acquired condition.

Strangulated or incarcerated spontaneous lumbar hernia as exceptional cause of intestinal obstruction: case report and review of the literature.

Lumbar hernias are rare conditions and about 300 cases have been reported since the first description by Barbette in 1672. Therefore strangulation or incarceration are also exceptionally encountered. We present a 62 -year-old-man who had strangulated left lumbar hernia and consequent mechanical small-bowel obstruction, alongside with a non strangulated right lumbar hernia.

Gastric leiomyosarcoma as a rare cause of gastric outlet obstruction and perforation: a case report.

Background: Gastrointestinal stromal tumours are the most common mesenchymal malignancies of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and gastric leiomyosarcoma represent 1-3% of gastric malignancies.

Case Presentation: We report a case of a 69-year-old black African man who presented with a rare cause of gastric outlet obstruction and duodenal perforation. A Billroth-II gastrectomy was performed and histology confirmed a gastric leiomyosarcoma.