Navigating the challenging storms of cancer management in a national cancer centre: perspectives of female patients.

Background: Breast, cervical, and ovarian cancers are among the top ten global cancers, affecting women, with age-standardized rates per 100,000 being 47.8 for breast, 13.3 for cervical, and 6.

Multicenter, international study of CT practices and radiation doses from 10 African countries: An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) baseline study.

Purpose: The objective of our IAEA-coordinated international study was to assess CT practices and radiation doses from multiple hospitals across several African countries.

Methods: The study included 13 hospitals from Africa which contributed information on minimum of 20 consecutive patients who underwent head, chest, and/or abdomen-pelvis CT. Prior to the data recording step, all hospitals had a mandatory one-hour training on the best practices in recording the relevant data elements.

A three-year review of lung cancer patient characteristics in a tertiary hospital.

Objective: The study sought to determine clinical characteristics and histologic subtypes of a cohort of lung cancer patients in a tertiary facility.

Design: Retrospective review of the medical records of histology-confirmed lung cancer cases at the respiratory clinic over a 3-year period.

Setting: Respiratory Clinic, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana.

Stroke occurrence by hypertension treatment status in Ghana and Nigeria: A case-control study.

Background: Hypertension is preeminent among the vascular risk factors for stroke occurrence. The wide gaps in awareness, detection, treatment, and control rates of hypertension are fueling an epidemic of stroke in sub-Saharan Africa.

Purpose: To quantify the contribution of untreated, treated but uncontrolled, and controlled hypertension to stroke occurrence in Ghana and Nigeria.

Dietary patterns associated with hypertension among stroke-free indigenous Africans: insights from the Stroke Investigative Research and Educational Network study.

Background: The dietary factors associated with the high burden of hypertension among indigenous Africans remain poorly understood. We assessed the relationship between dietary patterns and hypertension among indigenous Africans.

Method: In this study, 1550 participants with hypertension matched (for age: ± 5 years, sex and ethnicity) with 1550 participants without hypertension were identified from the stroke-free population in the Stroke Investigative Research and Educational Network study in Ghana and Nigeria.

Non-cigarette Tobacco Use and Stroke Among West Africans: Evidence From the SIREN Study.

Introduction: Non-cigarette tobacco (NCT) represents a form of tobacco use with a misperceived significance in chronic disease events. Whether NCT use is sufficient to promote stroke events, especially among Africans, is yet to be understood. This study assessed the relationship between NCT use and stroke among indigenous Africans.

Risk Assessment Score and Chi-Square Automatic Interaction Detection Algorithm for Hypertension Among Africans: Models From the SIREN Study.

Background: This study aimed to develop a risk-scoring model for hypertension among Africans.

Methods: In this study, 4413 stroke-free controls were used to develop the risk-scoring model for hypertension. Logistic regression models were applied to 13 risk factors.

A spectrum of findings on computed tomography in paediatric abdominal and pelvic tumours in a Ghanaian teaching hospital.

Objectives: To review the Computed Tomography( CT )features of pediatric oncological patients with abdominal and pelvic tumours and correlate these findings with their histopathological diagnosis.

Design: This was a retrospective cross-sectional facility-based study.

Setting: This study was conducted in the Pediatric Oncology Unit and Radiology Department of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.

Determinants of First-Ever Stroke Severity in West Africans: Evidence From the SIREN Study.

Background Baseline stroke severity is probably partly responsible for poor stroke outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa. However, there is a paucity of information on determinants of stroke severity among indigenous Africans. We sought to identify the factors associated with stroke severity among West Africans in the SIREN (Stroke Investigative Research and Educational Networks) study.

Patient-level and system-level determinants of stroke fatality across 16 large hospitals in Ghana and Nigeria: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Every minute, six indigenous Africans develop new strokes. Patient-level and system-level contributors to early stroke fatality in this region are yet to be delineated. We aimed to identify and quantify the contributions of patient-level and system-level determinants of inpatient stroke fatality across 16 hospitals in Ghana and Nigeria.

Giant pericardial cyst, an unusual cause of right heart failure in an elderly patient with tuberculosis and HIV: A case report.

Pericardial cysts are rare mediastinal masses commonly asymptomatic and incidentally found on chest radiographs. Pericardial cysts may be acquired/inflammatory in origin and may be symptomatic. We present a case of 65-year-old male who presented with symptoms of right heart failure.

Are there differences in perceptions, preferences and attitudes towards disclosure of genetic testing for Stroke? A qualitative study among stroke-free SIREN-SIBS genomics study participants.

Objective: This study explored perceptions, preferences and attitudes towards disclosure of genetic testing results for stroke among stroke-free controls (and their family members) in the SIREN-SIBS Genomics Study, healthcare providers and policymakers.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a qualitative thematic analysis of key informant interviews with 61 participants recruited from community advisory boards (30) and health care providers (31) across seven sites in Nigeria and Ghana.

Results: Major findings illustrate differences in the knowledge of genetic testing with superior knowledge among health care professionals.

Secondhand smoke exposure is independently associated with stroke among non-smoking adults in West Africa.

Background: Stroke is a leading cause of disability and mortality worldwide, but little is known about the contribution of secondhand smoke exposure (SHSE) to stroke epidemiology among indigenous Africans.

Objective: To evaluate the association of SHSE with stroke among indigenous Africans.

Methods: We analyzed the relationship of SHSE with stroke among 2990 case-control pairs of adults who had never smoked (identified in the SIREN study) using conditional logistic regression at a two-sided P < 0.

Carotid and Vertebral Atherosclerosis in West African Stroke Patients: Findings from the Stroke Investigative Research and Education Network.

Background: We evaluated the characteristics of carotid and vertebral atherosclerosis in indigenous West Africans with stroke.

Methodology: Of the 3778stroke patients recruited between 01/2014 and 08/2017, 1070 (28.3%) received carotid and vertebral artery evaluation with B-mode Ultrasound.

Mucinous adenocarcinoma of a tailgut cyst.

Unlabelled: A tailgut cyst is a rare congenital lesion that develops from a residual posterior remnant of the intestine and presents as a mass in the presacral space. They are generally asymptomatic or have atypical symptoms, are usually benign but may rarely become malignant. We report a case of a 37-year-old female who initially presented to the Surgical Department of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana with a malignant tailgut cyst after having repeated surgical procedures for recurrent perianal infective pathologies but still had persistence of symptoms.

Challenges of practicing neuro-endovascular interventions in a resource-limited country; Ghana in focus.

Objective: Now is the time to reflect on the situation of neuro-endovascular interventions (NEVT) in Africa, particularly Ghana, and to renew our commitment to provide high-quality health care to our people. This evaluation is significant because it seeks to assess progress toward our goals and identify potential obstacles for remedial action and to highlight the challenges of NEVT in Ghana.

Methods: Retrospective review of all endovascular treatments performed between January 1, 2019, and December 31, 2021, at two Ghanaian hospitals.

Towards the establishment of national imaging practice guidelines: A preliminary study of the basic computed tomography imaging protocols in Ghana.

Background: There is a need to harmonize imaging practices in computed tomography (CT) imaging. This study, therefore, investigated the variability of the basic imaging protocols used for CT imaging of common indications in Ghana in order to generate recommendations for the development of national imaging practice guidelines in CT imaging.

Method: A cross-sectional study, utilizing a structured online questionnaire, was undertaken (between December 2018 to March 2019) to collect indication-based imaging protocol data (scan coverage, scan series, image quality requirement, slice thickness, reconstruction, scan mode and orientation, required window, AEC usage, scan and breath hold techniques etc.

Risk Factor Characterization of Ischemic Stroke Subtypes Among West Africans.

Background And Purpose: To identify the qualitative and quantitative contributions of conventional risk factors for occurrence of ischemic stroke and its key pathophysiologic subtypes among West Africans.

Methods: The SIREN (Stroke Investigative Research and Educational Network) is a multicenter, case-control study involving 15 sites in Ghana and Nigeria. Cases include adults aged ≥18 years with ischemic stroke who were etiologically subtyped using the A-S-C-O-D classification into atherosclerosis, small-vessel occlusion, cardiac pathology, other causes, and dissection.

Hydrocalyx presenting as lumbar pain. A case report and review of the literature.

Hydrocalyx is an obstructed renal calyx from infundibulo-pelvic diminution or stenosis which leads to dilatation of the calyx. It becomes clinically important when associated with flank pains, haematuria, infection, renal impairment or stone formation. On intravenous urography the finding of a cystic dilatation of a calyx that communicates with the renal pelvis supports the diagnosis.

Frequency and factors associated with post-stroke seizures in a large multicenter study in West Africa.

Background: Post-stroke seizures (PSS) are associated with significant morbidity and mortality across the globe. There is a paucity of data on PSS in Africa.

Purpose: To assess the frequency and factors associated with PSS by stroke types across 15 hospitals in Nigeria and Ghana.

Atypical presentation of COVID-19 in a patient with type 2 diabetes at an urban primary care facility in Accra, Ghana.

This is a case report of a 55-year-old man with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus who presented with progressive breathlessness, chest pain and hyperglycaemia. An initial impression of a chest infection was made. Management was initiated with antibiotics, but this was unsuccessful, and he continued to desaturate.

CT scan chest findings in symptomatic COVID-19 patients: a reliable alternative for diagnosis.

Computed Tomography (CT) scan of the chest plays an important role in the diagnosis and management of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. COVID-19 pneumonia shows typical CT Scan features which can aid diagnoses and therefore help in the early detection and isolation of infected patients. CT scanners are readily available in many parts of Ghana.