Prevalence and determinants of selected cardio-metabolic risk factors among people living with HIV/AIDS and receiving care in the South West Regional Hospitals of Cameroon: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: Metabolic disorders and cardiovascular risk factors are not routinely assessed in the care of HIV patients in developing countries, known to have the highest disease burden. We described the prevalence and factors associated with major cardio-metabolic risk factors (obesity, diabetes and hypertension) in HIV/AIDS patients.

Results: The prevalence of diabetes, hypertension and obesity were 11.

Vitamin B12 deficiency neuropathy; a rare diagnosis in young adults: a case report.

Background: Vitamin B12 deficiency is a metabolic disorder with many causes. It often presents with megaloblastic anaemia and neurological disorders which entail prompt treatment. The diagnosis of Vitamin B12 deficiency is challenging in resource limited-settings due to limited access to diagnostic tools and unfamiliarity with the disease, owing to its rarity especially in young people.

Occurrence of Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy in a rural setting of Cameroon: a case report and review of the literature.

Background: Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy is a rare genetic muscular disease, presenting mainly with contractures, weakness and cardiac conduction abnormalities. Its clinical and laboratory similarities to other muscular dystrophies, and rarity poses diagnostic challenges, requiring a high index of suspicion in resource limited settings.

Case Presentation: An 8 year old sub-Saharan male presented with rigidity and deformity of both elbows and ankles, and weakness of the upper limbs and lower limbs for duration of 4 months.

Chlamydia trachomatis-induced Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome: a case report.

Background: Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome is defined as perihepatitis associated with pelvic inflammatory disease. Chlamydia trachomatis is one of its most common aetiologies. This syndrome usually presents with right upper quadrant abdominal pain mimicking other hepatobiliary and gastrointestinal pathologies, hence, posing a diagnostic dilemma in settings with limited diagnostic tools.

Hypertension, an Emerging Problem in Rural Cameroon: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Control.

. Despite the increasing trends suggesting that hypertension is a growing public health problem in developing countries, studies on its prevalence, associated risk factors, and extent of blood pressure control have been inequitably done in urban and rural communities in these countries. We therefore aimed to determine the prevalence of hypertension and extent of blood pressure control in rural Cameroon.

Have Non-physician Clinicians Come to Stay? Comment on "Non-physician Clinicians in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Evolving Role of Physicians".

A decade ago, sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 24% of the global disease burden but was served by only 4% of the global health workforce. The chronic shortage of medical doctors has led other health professionals especially nurses to perform the role of healthcare providers. These health workers have been variously named clinical officers, health officers, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, physician associates and non-physician clinicians (NPCs) defined as "health workers who have fewer clinical skills than physicians but more than nurses.

Prevalence and correlates of depressive symptoms in adult patients with pulmonary tuberculosis in the Southwest Region of Cameroon.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a global health challenge and depression is a significant contributor to the global burden of disease. Current evidence suggests that there is an association between depressive symptoms and TB, lower adherence to treatment, and increased morbidity and mortality. However, there is paucity of data regarding these associations in Cameroon.

A Comparison of the Diabetes Risk Score in HIV/AIDS Patients on Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) and HAART-Naïve Patients at the Limbe Regional Hospital, Cameroon.

Background: Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has been associated with dysglycaemia. However, there is scarce data on the risk of developing diabetes mellitus (DM) in HIV/AIDS patients in Africa.

Objectives: Primarily to quantify and compare the risk of having diabetes mellitus in HIV/AIDS patients on HAART and HAART-naïve patients in Limbe, Cameroon; and secondarily to determine if there is an association between HAART and increased DM risk.

Prevalence of Hypertension in HIV/AIDS Patients on Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) Compared with HAART-Naïve Patients at the Limbe Regional Hospital, Cameroon.

Background: Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has greatly reduced the morbidity and mortality of HIV/AIDS patients but has also been associated with increased metabolic complications and cardiovascular diseases. Data on the association between HAART and hypertension (HTN) in Africa are scarce.

Objectives: Primarily to compare the prevalence of HTN in HIV/AIDS patients on HAART and HAART-naïve patients in Limbe, Cameroon; and secondarily to assess other socio-demographic and clinical factors associated with HTN in this population.

Knowledge of physicians on chronic kidney disease and their attitudes towards referral, in two cities of Cameroon: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is frequently unrecognized by non-nephrology physicians. There is an ongoing governmental program to create hemodialysis centers in the ten regions of Cameroon, where a previous study reported high levels of late referral to nephrologists. We aimed to assess the knowledge of physicians on CKD and their attitudes regarding referral.

A brief history of medical education in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Developments in medical education in Sub-Saharan Africa over the past 100 years have been characterized by the continent's unique history. During the first half of the 20th century, the Europeans effectively installed medical education in their African colonies. The years 1950 to 1960 were distinguished by successful movements for independence, with new governments giving priority to medical education.

Medical schools in sub-Saharan Africa.

Small numbers of graduates from few medical schools, and emigration of graduates to other countries, contribute to low physician presence in sub-Saharan Africa. The Sub-Saharan African Medical School Study examined the challenges, innovations, and emerging trends in medical education in the region. We identified 168 medical schools; of the 146 surveyed, 105 (72%) responded.

The teaching of medicine at the University Centre for Health Sciences Yaounde, Cameroon: its concordance with the Edinburgh Declaration on medical education.

The University Centre for Health Sciences (UCHS) or as it is referred to in French 'Centre Universitaire des Sciences de la Santé' (CUSS), became functional in 1969 with the enrollment of the first group of students. The objective of this training programme was to produce a scientifically sound, multipurpose doctor who would be fully operational in a rural setting with minimal equipment and supplies (Monekosso 1970, 1972). The graduate had to be able to adapt readily to new situations and improvise whenever possible, calling for a high degree of competence and initiative.

Strategies for developing innovative programs in international medical education. A viewpoint from Africa.

Postgraduate medical education is an important factor in Africa's present emphasis on health care as a basis for socioeconomic development. Such education must be relevant to the realities of health problems in Africa. The priority of most African governments is training in traditional health care management and in fields related to community- and problem-based medicine.

Essential health care: a framework for its definition and implementation in health districts.

This paper presents a framework for the definition and implementation of essential health care. It is based upon current experiences in developing countries. Its aim is to facilitate the description, in operational terms, of a range of activities for clearly defined targets--individuals, families and communities.

[Epidemiologic study of dracunculosis in the Podokwos of the Mandara mountains (northern Cameroon)].

The purpose of the present work is the study of the epidemiological aspects of dracontiasis in an endemic area in Cameroon. The study was undertaken in the central Podokwo settlement in Mora subdivision. It is a mountainous area with a climate characterized by a long dry season, from October to mid-May, and a short rainy season.