Vitamin B12 deficiency presenting as an acute confusional state: a case report and review of literature.

Background: Vitamin B12 deficiency is associated with a wide spectrum of neuro-psychiatric manifestations.

Results: We report a case of a 44 year old female patient referred to the haematology unit with vitamin B12 deficiency presenting as an acute confusional state or delirium. Total resolution of the psychiatric symptoms occurred following parenteral vitamin B12 replacement therapy.

Fibrocalculous pancreatic diabetes in a young Ugandan patient, a rare form of secondary diabetes.

Background: Fibrocalculous pancreatic diabetes is an infrequent type of secondary diabetes due to chronic tropical non alcoholic calcific pancreatitis. It has been widely described exclusively in developing tropical countries. A diagnosis is made basing on the presence of abdominal pain, presence of pancreatic calcifications, steatorrhoea, and diabetes mellitus.

The proportion of asthma and patterns of asthma medications prescriptions among adult patients in the chest, accident and emergency units of a tertiary health care facility in Uganda.

Background: Asthma is a common chronic disease with high morbidity. In Uganda, the proportion of asthma in health care facilities and the extent to which asthma management guidelines are followed is unknown.

Objectives: To determine the proportion of adult patients diagnosed with asthma and the proportion of asthma patients that receives recommended asthma therapy prescriptions according to Global Initiative for Asthma with GINA management and prevention guidelines, in the chest clinic and accident and emergency (A&E) departments in Mulago Hospital.

Cholestatic hepatic injury due to a thyroid storm: a case report from a resource limited setting.

Introduction: Thyroid storm is an endocrinological emergency caused by an exacerbation of the hyperthyroid state and is characterized by multi organ dysfunction. Liver dysfunction or injury predominantly of a cholestatic type is one of the atypical manifestations of thyroid storm and has been previously described in literature. However, there have been few published case reports among African patients and from resource limited settings.

Advances in the Diagnosis, Treatment and Control of HIV Associated Tuberculosis.

There has been an increase in the number of published tuberculosis/HIV (TB/HIV) research findings in recent times. The potential impact of these findings on routine care has informed this review which aims at discussing current concepts and practices underpinning TB/HIV care and control. Any HIV infected person with a cough of any duration is currently considered a TB suspect.

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.

Religiosity and adherence to antiretroviral therapy among patients attending a public hospital-based HIV/AIDS clinic in Uganda.

In Uganda, the prevalence of non-adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) by HIV/AIDS patients remains high and sometimes this is blamed on patients' religious behavior. A descriptive design was used to examine the relationship between religiosity and ART adherence in a sample of 220 patients attending a HIV/AIDS clinic in a Ugandan public hospital. Participants who self-identified as Pentecostal and Muslim had the highest percentage of members with high religiosity scores and ART adherence.

Risk factors for perinatal mortality in Arua regional referral hospital, West Nile, Uganda.

Background: In low-income countries, the majority of neonatal deaths occur during the perinatal period. The fourth millennium development goal of reducing child mortality cannot therefore be met without substantial reduction in perinatal deaths.

Objective: To investigate the risk factors for perinatal mortality in Arua regional referral hospital, West Nile region.