ABSTRACT Infectious disease represents a major cause of death accounting for approximately one half of all deaths in tropical countries (Iwu et al., 1999). In particular, gastrointestinal disease is the most frequent cause of childhood morbidity and adult mortality in many parts of the developing world. The presence of enterobacteria in foodstuffs and water is a common cause of diarrhoea and dysentery among the infant population (Viera et al.,2001). The increase in antibiotic resistance causi...
The testing capacity for SARS-CoV-2 in Africa is rather limited. Antigen detection rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs) are a cheap and rapid alternative to reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests, but there is little data about their performance under real life conditions in tropical countries. The objective of this study is to evaluate the performance of a standard Ag-RDT in a population of a major hospital in northern Ghana. Prospective, cross-sectional, blinded verifica...
Background: Malnutrition is a major underlying factor in under-five mortality and morbidity. Early detection and management are key in preventing the associated complications. However, the nutritional status of children is not frequently assessed at outpatient clinics. Objective: This study aimed to determine the degree of wasting and underweight and their associated factors in children presenting at the outpatients’ department (OPD) of the Tamale Teaching Hospital. Methods: A 5-month retro...
Background: Studies have confirmed that the nurse during the period of delivery would be the deciding factor whether the woman would have a positive or negative birth experience. This positive or negative experience depends on the quality of nursing during this period. Hence it is important to know the concept of care from the perspective of postpartum women and their lived experience of nursing care during the period of childbirth. This is because patients’ satisfactory of services rendere...
Abstract Increasing women’s knowledge about maternal health is an important step towards empowering them and making them aware of their rights and health status, allowing them to seek appropriate health care. In Yemen, the ongoing conflict has hampered the delivery of health information to women in public health facilities. This study examined rural women’s knowledge of, and attitude towards, maternal and child health in Yemen and identified the factors associated with good maternal healt...
Introduction: In sub-Saharan Africa, extensive migratory activities and interactions exist especially amongst unmanned cross-border communities between countries sharing common borders which complicate emergency public health interventions. Understanding the nature of these activities and interactions will help strengthen public health interventions and control of pandemics such as the Ebola outbreak and COVID-19. Objective: The study aimed to understand the nature of contiguous border commun...
Background and Objectives: The immunomodulatory potential of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can be regulated by a variety of molecules, especially cytokines. The inflammatory cytokine, TNF-like ligand 1A (TL1A), has been reported as an inflammation stimulator in-multiple autoimmune diseases. Here, we studied the effects of TL1A/TNF-receptor 2 (TNFR2) pathway on the therapeutic potency of bone marrow-derived MSCs (BMSCs). Methods and Results: BMSCs, fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs), and H9 a...
Fournier’s Gangrene is a formidable rare disease characterized by high mortality rates despite optimal medical and surgical management. It is an acute surgical emergency and requires a high degree of suspicion. The mainstay of treatment is swift open drainage and early aggressive surgical debridement of all necrotic tissue, followed by targeted antibiotic therapy. The authors report on two patients who were admitted to the surgical ward. Both presented with initial perianal sepsis complicat...
Background: Making prognosis and identifying the patients at higher risk of mortality are important issues in breast cancer (BC) treatment. The aim of this study was to stratify BC case receiving mastectomy into prognostic risk categories using the Nottingham Prognostic Index (NPI).Methods: This was a retrospective review from January 2002 to December 2014 Results: Approximately 35% of all BCs diagnosed in our institution had undergone mastectomy. The mean age was 51.9 years. The mean size of...
Background/aims: Colon cancer remains a life-threating disease with increasing morbidity and mortality worldwide despite the advancement in modern medical treatment. Therefore, novel and effective anti-colon cancers drugs are urgently needed. In this study, we investigated the anti-metastatic property EnDuo, a modified version of Endostar, and the underlying mechanisms. Methods: Colon cancer cells were treated with different concentrations of EnDuo (50 μg/mL, 100 μg/mL, 200 μg/ mL), and En...
Background: Worldwide about 20 million women give birth through surgical intervention and as such it is placed first among operative cases in most hospitals. Little is known about how this method of delivery affects the psychosocial health of the mothers. Yet, the rate keeps on increasing. This study sought to explore the psychosocial experiences of women who have undergone caesarian section (CS) in the Tamale Metropolis. Methods: This is an exploratory and descriptive study with a qualitativ...
Abstract: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has been strongly associated with single nucleotide poly morphisms (SNPs) in the TCF7L2 gene. This study investigated the association between rs12255372, rs7903146 in the TCF7L2 gene and T2DM in a Ghanaian population. A case-control study design was used for this study. A total of 106 T2DM patients and 110 control participants were selected. Basic data collected included body mass index, blood pressure and socio-demographics. Fasting blood samples wer...
Objective: Neonates are more susceptible to infections, as well as medication toxicities. This study, therefore, sought to describe the clinical characteristics, medication prescription pattern, and treatment outcomes for neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of a tertiary health-care facility in Ghana. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted to ascertain clinical records, conditions for admission, spectrum of medications prescribed, and treatment o...
Background. 'e clinical learning environment and clinical rotation experience of students are integral to nursing curriculum and are a crucial component of nursing education which helps transform theoretical knowledge to clinical practical skills. Objective.This study was aimed at assessing the role of the clinical learning environment on undergraduate nursing and midwifery students satisfaction with their clinical rotation experience. Method. 'e study employed a quantitative cross-sectional ...
Objective: We conducted a cross-sectional study in the five administrative regions of Northern Ghana to determine the diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) sub/lineages and their susceptibility to isoniazid (INH) and rifampicin (RIF). Methods: Sputum specimens were collected and cultured from 566 pulmonary tuberculosis patients reporting to 17 health facilities from 2015 to 2019. Mycobacterial isolates obtained from solid cultures were confirmed as members of the MTBC by PCR ...