Report from the first Tanzania Liver Cancer Conference: a call for action to unite in the fight against liver cancer in Sub-Saharan Africa, 17-18 March 2023, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The first Tanzania Liver Cancer Conference (TLCC2023) took place on 17-18 March 2023 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania with the aim of raising awareness among healthcare providers on the problem that liver cancer poses to the Tanzanian population and the urgent need to address this important issue. The conference focused on the following agenda items: 1) to build awareness among local healthcare providers on the status of liver cancer in Tanzania and the available diagnostic and management options, 2) to update Tanzanian healthcare providers on the current standard of care for liver cancer provided in developed countries and recent advancements in liver cancer care and 3) to promote an inclusive and multidisciplinary approach in research and the clinical care of patients with liver cancer in Tanzania. TLCC2023 was preceded by community-facing pre-conference activities, including screening 684 community members for hepatitis B virus free of charge.

Scope and mortality of adult medical ICU patients in an Eastern Cape tertiary hospital.

Background: The characteristics and mortality outcomes of patients admitted to South African intensive care units (ICUs) owing to medical conditions are unknown. Available literature is derived from studies based on data from high-income countries.

Objectives: To determine ICU utilisation by medical patients and evaluate the scope of admissions and clinical associations with hospital mortality in ICU patients 12 years and older admitted to an Eastern Cape tertiary ICU, particularly in the subset with HIV disease.

Prediction of in-hospital mortality: An adaptive severity-of-illness score for a tertiary ICU in South Africa.

Background: A scoring system based on physiological conditions was developed in 1984 to assess the severity of illness. This version, and subsequent versions, were labelled Simplified Acute Physiology Scores (SAPS). Each extension addressed limitations in the earlier version, with the SAPS III model using a data-driven approach.

The SAPS 3 score as a predictor of hospital mortality in a South African tertiary intensive care unit: A prospective cohort study.

Background: No African countries were included in the development of the Simplified Acute Physiology Score 3 (SAPS 3). This study aimed to assess the performance of the SAPS 3 as a predictor of hospital mortality in patients admitted to a multi-disciplinary tertiary intensive care unit (ICU) in South Africa.

Methods: A prospective cohort study was undertaken in a tertiary single-centre closed multidisciplinary ICU with 16 beds over 12 months in 2017.

Risk factors and outcomes of acute kidney injury in South African critically ill adults: a prospective cohort study.

Background: There is a marked paucity of data concerning AKI in Sub-Saharan Africa, where there is a substantial burden of trauma and HIV.

Methods: Prospective data was collected on all patients admitted to a multi-disciplinary ICU in South Africa during 2017. Development of AKI (before or during ICU admission) was recorded and renal recovery 90 days after ICU discharge was determined.