Key findings from a prospective trauma registry at a regional hospital in Southwest Cameroon.

Introduction: Trauma is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Data characterizing the burden of trauma in Cameroon is limited. Regular, prospective injury surveillance can address the shortcomings of existing hospital administrative logs and medical records.

Implementation of the World Health Organization Trauma Care Checklist Program in 11 Centers Across Multiple Economic Strata: Effect on Care Process Measures.

Background: Trauma contributes more than ten percent of the global burden of disease. Initial assessment and resuscitation of trauma patients often requires rapid diagnosis and management of multiple concurrent complex conditions, and errors are common. We investigated whether implementing a trauma care checklist would improve care for injured patients in low-, middle-, and high-income countries.

Which cause of diffuse peritonitis is the deadliest in the tropics? A retrospective analysis of 305 cases from the South-West Region of Cameroon.

Background: Acute diffuse peritonitis is a common surgical emergency worldwide and a major contributor to non-trauma related death toll. Its causes vary widely and are correlated with mortality. Community acquired peritonitis seems to play a major role and is frequently related to hollow viscus perforation.

Retrospective Analysis of Clinical Features, Treatment and Outcome of Coital Injuries of the Female Genital Tract Consecutive to Consensual Sexual Intercourse in the Limbe Regional Hospital.

Introduction: Nonobstetrical genital injuries are gradually becoming a common cause of genital injuries. Consensual sex has been reported to be a possible cause of this type of injuries, but its contribution to traumatic lesions of the female genital tract is not well known. It has been suggested that injury consecutive to consensual sex can be extensive and life-threatening.

A prospective pilot cohort analysis of crash characteristics and pattern of injuries in riders and pillion passengers involved in motorcycle crashes in an urban area in Cameroon: lessons for prevention.

Background: Low and middle-income countries carry over ninety per cent of the burden of injury related mortality and disability. Motorcycles are gradually becoming a major mode of transportation in Cameroon and other African countries in the absence of an organized public transport. Consequently, the contribution of motorcycle crash to injury-related deaths seems to be on the rise.

Perforation of the splenic flexure of the colon by an ingested wooden toothpick.

We present the case of a 23-year-old man who consulted in the emergency department 6 days after ingesting a wooden toothpick with features of a localized peritonitis in the left upper quadrant of the abdomen. Surgical exploration revealed a perforation of the splenic flexure of the colon by the toothpick during its migration. This rare case is analysed in the light of the current literature.

Epidemiology of paediatric injury in low income environment: value of hospital based data prior to the institution of a formal registration system.

Background: Little attention is generally paid to paediatric injuries, especially in low income settings. The aim of this study is to provide an overview of the epidemiology of hospital-based paediatric injuries in a semi-urban area in Cameroon prior to the initiation of a formal registration system.

Patients And Methods: A sixteen items data collection sheet derived from a newly instituted trauma registry is used to retrospectively gather hospital-based basic information about epidemiology of injuries in patients aged 15 years or below in a low income setting.

Pattern of surgical practice in a regional hospital in Cameroon and implications for training.

Background: Surgeons are scarce in African countries. There is still a need to rely on general practitioners to perform a number of selected procedures. Their training needs to take these facts into consideration.

Don't be scared: insert a mesh!

Mesh repair is now the gold standard technique of repair on incisional hernias. Infection of the mesh is a challenging complication of this type of repair. The risk of mesh infection has been shown to be greater in case of complicated hernia.

Hospital-based injury data from level III institution in Cameroon: retrospective analysis of the present registration system.

Background: Data on the epidemiology of trauma in Cameroon are scarce. Presently, hospital records are still used as a primary source of injury data. It has been shown that trauma registries could play a key role in providing basic data on trauma.