Prevalence and characteristics of primary left-sided valve disease in a cohort of 15,000 patients undergoing echocardiography studies in a tertiary hospital in Uganda.

Background: Although rheumatic heart disease remains the leading cause of valve heart disease (VHD) in developing countries, other forms of valve disease have been over shadowed and not regarded as a public health problem. However, several facts suggest that the role of non-rheumatic VHD as a significant cardiovascular disease should be reconsidered. We aimed to assess the prevalence and characteristics of different forms of primary left sided valve diseases from a series of 15,009 echocardiographic studies.

Comparison of non-mesh (Desarda) and mesh (Lichtenstein) methods for inguinal hernia repair among black African patients: a short-term double-blind RCT.

Purpose: This study compared the short-term outcomes of the non-mesh (Desarda) and mesh (Lichtenstein) methods of hernia repair among Black African patients, with regard to acute postoperative pain, day of return to normal gait, operative time and complications.

Methods: A total of 101 participants (51 in the Lichtenstein arm and 50 in the Desarda arm) were enrolled into this single centre double-blind randomised controlled trial. The outcome measures were evaluated at 1-2 h, 3, 7 and 14 days.