Focused cardiac ultrasound: Competency among pre-internship medical officers in diagnosing cardiac causes of dyspnea.

Background: Differentiating cardiovascular causes of dyspnea in resource-limited healthcare settings can be challenging. The use of easy-to-train, point-of-care, focused cardiac ultrasound (FoCUS) protocols may potentially alleviate this challenge.

Research Question: Can novices attain competency in FoCUS use after training using the cardiac ultrasound for resource-limited settings (CURLS) protocol?

Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted at the Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya.

Erectile dysfunction in hypertensive males in Kenya: a tertiary referral hospital experience.

Unlabelled: Erectile dysfunction (ED) in males can be organic or/and psychological.

Objective: To determine the burden of ED among adult hypertensive men attending ambulatory clinic at Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya.

Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study on patients on antihypertensive medications, followed for ≥ one month.

Glucose-lowering therapies, adequacy of metabolic control, and their relationship with comorbid depression in outpatients with type 2 diabetes in a tertiary hospital in Kenya.

Background: Depression and diabetes mellitus are important comorbid conditions with serious health consequences. When depression and diabetes are comorbid, depression negatively affects self-management activities of diabetes with serious consequences. Relationship between treatment regimens of diabetes, the adequacy of glycemic control, and occurrence of comorbid depression is not known among our patients.

Quality of sleep and risk for obstructive sleep apnoea in ambulant individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus at a tertiary referral hospital in Kenya: a cross-sectional, comparative study.

Background: Sleep disorders are common and associated with multiple metabolic and psychological derangements. Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is among the most common sleep disorders and an inter-relationship between OSA, insulin resistance, obesity, type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and cardiovascular diseases has been established. Prevalence of sleep disorders in Kenyans, particularly in individuals with T2DM is unknown.

A comparative study of the quality of care and glycemic control among ambulatory type 2 diabetes mellitus clients, at a Tertiary Referral Hospital and a Regional Hospital in Central Kenya.

Background: Peripheral public health facilities remain the most frequented by the majority of the population in Kenya; yet remain sub-optimally equipped and not optimized for non-communicable diseases care.

Design And Methodology: We undertook a descriptive, cross sectional study among ambulatory type 2 diabetes mellitus clients, attending Kenyatta National Referral Hospital (KNH), and Thika District Hospital (TDH) in Central Kenya. Systematic random sampling was used.

Prevalence of hypertension and associated cardiovascular risk factors in an urban slum in Nairobi, Kenya: a population-based survey.

Background: Urbanisation has been described as a key driver of the evolving non-communicable disease (NCD) epidemic. In Africa, hypertension is the commonest cardiovascular problem. We determined the prevalence and risk factor correlates of hypertension in the largest Nairobi slum.

A population-based survey of prevalence of diabetes and correlates in an urban slum community in Nairobi, Kenya.

Background: Urban slum populations in Africa continue to grow faster than national populations. Health strategies that focus on non-communicable diseases (NCD) in this segment of the population are generally lacking. We determined the prevalence of diabetes and associated cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors correlates in Kibera, Nairobi's largest slum.