Modelling the Cost-Effectiveness of Hepatitis A in South Africa.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the consideration of introducing routine hepatitis A vaccination into national immunization schedules for children ≥ 1 years old in countries with intermediate HAV endemicity. Recent data suggest that South Africa is transitioning from high to intermediate HAV endemicity, thus it is important to consider the impact and cost of potential routine hepatitis A vaccination strategies in the country. An age-structured compartmental model of hepatitis A transmission was calibrated with available data from South Africa, incorporating direct costs of hepatitis A treatment and vaccination.

Air Medical Support for a Peripheral Hospital in Southern Israel: An Evolving Role for the Air Ambulance and Emergency Department Clinicians.

The early use of helicopters on the battlefields of Korea and Vietnam led to the introduction of "air ambulances" into civilian practice. Initially, these aircraft were tasked to retrieve casualties and provide conventional paramedic care at the scene and en route to the hospital. The introduction of advanced medical teams on helicopters led to the evolution of helicopter emergency medical service units.

Three months in a high-volume tertiary orthopaedic trauma unit: What is a registrar worth?

Background: South Africa has a high burden of traumatic injuries that is predominantly managed in the public healthcare system, despite the relative disparity in human resources between the public and private sectors. Because of budget and theatre time constraints, the trauma waiting list often exceeds 50 - 60 patients who need urgent and emergent surgery in high-volume orthopaedic trauma centres. This situation is exacerbated by other surgical disciplines using orthopaedic theatre time for life-threatening injuries because of lack of own theatre availability.

The influence of maternal blood glucose during pregnancy on weight outcomes at birth and preschool age in offspring exposed to hyperglycemia first detected during pregnancy, in a South African cohort.

Introduction: Little is known about the influence of hyperglycemia first detected in pregnancy (HFDP) on weight outcomes in exposed offspring in Africa. We investigated the influence of maternal blood glucose concentrations during pregnancy on offspring weight outcomes at birth and preschool age, in offspring exposed to HFDP, in South Africa.

Research Design And Methods: Women diagnosed with HFDP had data routinely collected during the pregnancy and at delivery, at a referral hospital, and the offspring followed up at preschool age.

A prospective observational study of preoperative natriuretic peptide testing in adult non-cardiac surgical patients in hospitals in Western Cape Province, South Africa.

Background: International guidelines recommend risk stratification to identify high-risk non-cardiac surgical patients. It is also recommended that all patients aged ≥45 years with significant cardiovascular disease should have preoperative natriuretic peptide (NP) testing. Abnormal preoperative B-type NPs have a strong association with postoperative cardiac complications.

Development of a Clinical Prediction Model for In-hospital Mortality from the South African Cohort of the African Surgical Outcomes Study.

Background: Data on the factors that influence mortality after surgery in South Africa are scarce, and neither these data nor data on risk-adjusted in-hospital mortality after surgery are routinely collected. Predictors related to the context or setting of surgical care delivery may also provide insight into variation in practice. Variation must be addressed when planning for improvement of risk-adjusted outcomes.

A cross-cultural perspective on feeling good in the context of foods and beverages.

The aim of the present research was to explore consumers' conceptualization of feeling good in relation to food and beverages from a cross-cultural perspective. Participants from 14 countries across 5 continents and covering 10 languages (N = 8325) responded to an online survey including word association and free listing tasks related to feeling good in the context of food and beverages. Results were analyzed using inductive coding: a list of main codes was generated in English for each of the tasks, after which native speakers for each language coded the responses.

More than $1 billion needed annually to secure Africa's protected areas with lions.

Protected areas (PAs) play an important role in conserving biodiversity and providing ecosystem services, yet their effectiveness is undermined by funding shortfalls. Using lions () as a proxy for PA health, we assessed available funding relative to budget requirements for PAs in Africa's savannahs. We compiled a dataset of 2015 funding for 282 state-owned PAs with lions.

Pregnancy outcome in patients with pregestational and gestational diabetes attending Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa.

Background: The burden of diabetes mellitus (DM) has increased dramatically worldwide. The association between poorly controlled DM and poor pregnancy outcomes has been well described.

Objectives: To describe the pregnancy outcomes of patients with pregestational and gestational DM attending Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa.

Colonic perineurioma (benign fibroblastic polyp): case report and review of the literature.

Background: Colorectal perineuriomas are uncommon benign mucosal-based proliferations of mesenchymal cells that express perineurial markers, often associated with colonic crypts displaying a serrated/hyperplastic architecture. The vast majority of cases arise distal to the splenic flexure and have been described as sessile polyps. Using molecular analysis, BRAF mutations have been demonstrated in the serrated crypt epithelium.

Cheers, proost, saúde: Cultural, contextual and psychological factors of wine and beer consumption in Portugal and in the Netherlands.

Wine and beer consumption are an integral part of European culture: Southern Europe is associated with wine and Northern Europe is associated with beer. When consumed in moderation, these alcoholic beverages can be part of a balanced and healthy diet. In the 1990s, non-alcoholic beer (NAB), which has no cultural roots, became available in the market.

Using a theoretical framework to investigate whether the HIV/AIDS information needs of the AfroAIDSinfo Web portal members are met: a South African eHealth study.

eHealth has been identified as a useful approach to disseminate HIV/AIDS information. Together with Consumer Health Informatics (CHI), the Web-to-Public Knowledge Transfer Model (WPKTM) has been applied as a theoretical framework to identify consumer needs for AfroAIDSinfo, a South African Web portal. As part of the CHI practice, regular eSurveys are conducted to determine whether these needs are changing and are continually being met.

Can emergency physicians accurately rule out clinically important cervical spine injuries by using computed tomography?

Objective: Emergency physicians are expected to rule out clinically important cervical spine injuries using clinical skills and imaging. Our objective was to determine whether emergency physicians could accurately rule out clinically important cervical spine injuries using computed tomographic (CT) imaging of the cervical spine.

Method: Fifteen emergency physicians were enrolled to interpret a sample of 50 cervical spine CT scans in a nonclinical setting.

Investigating health information needs of community radio stations and applying the World Wide Web to disseminate audio products.

The Web and Media Technologies Platform (WMTP) of the South African Medical Research Council (MRC) conducted a pilot project amongst community radio stations in South Africa. Based on previous research done in Africa WMTP investigated the following research question: How reliable is the content of health information broadcast by community radio stations? The main objectives of the project were to determine the 1) intervals of health slots on community radio stations, 2) sources used by community radio stations for health slots, 3) type of audio products needed for health slots, and 4) to develop a user friendly Web site in response to the stations' needs for easy access to audio material on health information.

A 3-step eHealth approach to transfer knowledge on HIV and sexual violence in developing countries.

This paper discusses an innovative 3-step eHealth approach to translate research for target audiences' knowledge uptake in developing countries. The first step uses a knowledge transfer model for the identification and packaging of health content as well as the selection of appropriate Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) platforms; followed by consumer health informatics studies to evaluate the efficacy of addressing health consumers' information needs; and the final step recommends forming of strategic partnerships to strengthen and support knowledge transfer and sharing. The 3-step eHealth approach is based on a convergence of ICTs, and application of the practices and principles of informatics and knowledge management.

C2- and C4-position 17beta-estradiol metabolites and their relation to breast cancer.

C2- and C4-position 17beta-estradiol metabolites play an important role in breast carcinogenesis. 2-Hydroxyestradiol and 4-hydroxyestradiol are implicated in tumorigenesis via two pathways. These pathways entail increased cell proliferation and the formation of reactive oxygen species that trigger an increase in the likelihood of deoxyribonucleic acid mutations.

Primary health care nurses implement and evaluate a community outreach approach to health care in the South African agricultural sector.

Background: Early detection and effective case management of tuberculosis (TB) among a high-risk group of materially poor farm workers in an area of the Cape Winelands, South Africa, presents special challenges to the health community, where resource constraints lead to service reduction. In order to address this problem, local nurses established a collaborative partnership between permanent farm workers and their families, their employers, selected non-governmental organizations and the public health sector. In consultation with stakeholders, they developed an intervention primarily focusing on having peer selected trained lay health workers (LHWs) on farms, mentored and managed by nurses.

Identification and characterization of HIV type 1 subtypes present in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: high level of genetic diversity found.

Saudi Arabia has a very low prevalence of HIV infections and nothing is known about HIV strains present in the population. Here specimens were collected from 62 HIV-1-infected patients at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Viral sequences were PCR amplified using primers for HIV-1 group M in gag p24, pol integrase, and env gp41 and genetic subtype was determined by phylogenetic analysis.

Assessment of point and non-point pollution associated with the power generation sector in South Africa.

Access to water and water availability remains a key factor in ensuring the sustainability of development in Southern Africa. The need for guidelines to improve management of this valuable resource, and to regulate pollutant discharge, is therefore of national interest. A new and growing threat to our natural water resources is non-point source (NPS) pollution.

Paralysis: a rare presentation of abdominal aortic aneurysm thrombosis.

We report an acute thrombosis of an abdominal aortic aneurysm presenting with paralysis of a lower extremity. The usual presentation of such thrombosis is vascular compromise of the lower extremities. When the thrombus obstructs the artery of Adamkiewicz, the main blood supply to the lower spinal cord, spinal ischemia and paralysis can occur.

Reducing the healthcare costs of urban air pollution: the South African experience.

Air pollutants often have adverse effects on human health. This paper investigates and ranks a set of policy and technological interventions intended to reduce such health costs in the high population density areas of South Africa. It initially uses a simple benefit-cost rule, later extended to capture sectoral employment impacts.

Ear to the ground: listening to farm dwellers talk about the experience of becoming lay health workers.

Ranking ninth in the world for its contribution to the global burden of tuberculosis (TB), South Africa continues to battle the disease. Within the framework of the World Health Organisation's Directly Observed Treatment Short Course (DOTS) strategy, attempts have been made to utilize lay health workers (LHWs) as TB treatment supporters. Previous research has highlighted the benefits and difficulties associated with such an approach, but little attention has been paid to the perceptions of LHWs themselves.

Retrospective determination of HIV-1 status by a PCR method on paraffin wax embedded sections.

Aim: To develop a simple but reliable polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method to determine the HIV-1 status of patients on formalin fixed, paraffin wax embedded lymph node tissue.

Methods: Fifty lymph node specimens, 20 from HIV-1 seropositive and 30 from HIV-1 seronegative patients, were analysed. Lymph nodes with a variety of disease conditions were included in the study.