Introduction: Data on mortality in acute kidney injury (AKI) derives from high-income countries where AKI is hospital-acquired and occurs in elderly patients with a high burden of cardiovascular disease. In sub-Sahara...Introduction: Data on mortality in acute kidney injury (AKI) derives from high-income countries where AKI is hospital-acquired and occurs in elderly patients with a high burden of cardiovascular disease. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), AKI is community-acquired occurring in healthy young adults. We aimed to identify predictors of fatal outcomes in patients with AKI in two tertiary hospitals in Cameroon. Methods: Medical records of adults with confirmed AKI, from January 2018 to March 2020 were retrieved. The outcomes of interest were in-hospital deaths and presumed causes of death. We used multiple logistic regressions modeling to identify predictors of death. The study was approved by the ethics boards of both hospitals. Values were considered significant for a p-value of 0.05. Results: We included 285 patient records (37.2% females). The mean (SD) age was 50.1 (19.0) years. Hypertension (n = 97, 34.0%), organ failure (n = 88, 30.9%), and diabetes (n = 60, 21.1%) were the main comorbidities. The majority of patients had community-acquired AKI (78.6%, n = 224), were KDIGO stage 3 (88.8%, n = 253), and needed dialysis (52.6%, n = 150). Up to 16.7% (n = 25) did not receive what was needed. The in-hospital mortality rate was 29.1% (n = 83). Lack of access to dialysis (OR = 27.8;CI: 5.2 - 149.3, p = 0.001), hypotension (OR = 11.8;CI: 1.3 - 24.8;p = 0.001) and ICU admission (OR = 5.7;CI: 1.3 - 24.8, p = 0.001) were predictors of mortality. The presence of co-morbidities or underlying diseases (n = 46, 55%) were the main causes of death. Conclusions: In-hospital AKI mortality is high, as in other low- and middle-income economies. Lack of access to dialysis and the severity of the underlying illness are major predictors of death.展开更多
Context: COVID-19 can spread rapidly in haemodialysis centres, leading to fatal outcomes. Implementing physical measures is crucial in limiting the spread of infection. Aims: To assess adherence to physical measures a...Context: COVID-19 can spread rapidly in haemodialysis centres, leading to fatal outcomes. Implementing physical measures is crucial in limiting the spread of infection. Aims: To assess adherence to physical measures against SARS-Cov2 in haemodialysis patients. Methods and Material: From 13 to 19 July 2021, we administered the questionnaire to haemodialysis patients during or immediately after the dialysis session. The dependent variables were adherence to wearing masks, hand washing outside the dialysis centre, social distancing of at least 1.5 meters, and cough and sneeze hygiene. Statistical Analysis Used: Data were analyzed using Epi info software;descriptive statistics were presented as mean, headcount, and percentage;related factors were determined by multi-logistic regression. The significance level was 5%. The Health Research Ethics Committee approved the research protocol. Results: 142 patients were included (mean age: 42.5 ± 14 years). Wearing masks, hand-washing, social distancing, and coughing and sneezing hygiene were observed by 88%, 75%, 47%, and 60% of patients, respectively. Conclusion: Wearing masks was the most respected physical measure, while social distancing was the least respected.展开更多
Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of two interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) (QuantiFERON-TB Plus (QFT-plus) and T-SPOT.TB assay) for patients suspected of having tuberculosis (TB) i...Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of two interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) (QuantiFERON-TB Plus (QFT-plus) and T-SPOT.TB assay) for patients suspected of having tuberculosis (TB) infection as supportive methods for diagnosing TB. Patients and Methods: The subjects consisted of 45 patients who required clinical differentiation of TB disease from June 2019 to August 2023. The final clinical diagnoses were: 14 patients with active TB disease, 4 with latent TB infection (LTBI), 17 with old (cured) TB disease, and 10 with pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) disease. We used the two IGRAs for these patients and evaluated the data according to the manufacturer’s guidelines for interpretation or FDA-approved cutoffs. Results: Among the total of 14 patients with active TB disease (mean age: 64 years old, male: 9, and female: 5), a positive response was noted in 10 patients (71%) on QFT-plus and 9 (64%) on T-SPOT.TB. Four patients with a negative response on QFT-plus and T-SPOT.TB were elderly or cancer patients with lymphocytopenia or hypoalbuminemia. All four patients with LTBI showed a positive response (100%) on both QFT-plus and T-SPOT.TB. Among the seventeen patients with old (cured) TB disease, a positive response was noted in 8 patients (47%) on QFT-plus and 9 (53%) on T-SPOT.TB. All patients with pulmonary NTM disease showed a negative response on both QFT-plus and T-SPOT.TB. Conclusions: A false-negative response on QFT-plus as well as T-SPOT.TB was recognized in elderly patients and patients with an immunosuppressed condition, and half of patients with old (cured) TB showed no negative conversion after the completion of treatment through this study. Although it was recently reported that the positive response rate on QFT-plus of patients with active TB disease was high, we consider it necessary to be careful in diagnosing TB infection using IGRAs for patients with severe underlying diseases in a tertiary hospital based on the results.展开更多
The value of system assimilation is to improve working relationships between tutors and learners while increasing workflow efficiency among tertiary institutions with low operational costs. E-skills could be described...The value of system assimilation is to improve working relationships between tutors and learners while increasing workflow efficiency among tertiary institutions with low operational costs. E-skills could be described as electronic education development, to assist ICT professionals to reach their future career goals and aim to help users boost their ICT skills. In a society that is expanding, it is also a crucial issue to take into account. Researchers have turned their attention to this topic because of its significance and contribution to the empowerment of graduates in digital education. Many scholars have proposed many methods for integrating e-skills into society with impressive results, but the rising rate of graduate unemployment in South Africa is gradually becoming a big worry in our society. A model based on Activity Theory (AT) and e-skills will be developed in our tertiary institution to equip graduates with skills that will increase their employability and provide more individualized work opportunities as part of this study’s effort to solve this issue. With the use of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and Cronbach’s Alpha for validity and reliability testing, the study will create an experimental performance to assess the approach taken to measure e-skills in tertiary institutions to empower graduates in South Africa. The study established that system development and e-skilled models for tertiary institutions are growing gradually, especially in South African institutions, that empower graduates with profitable employability with experiences to improve work operation in the industries. In conclusion, system development and e-skills are very demanding but important to empower graduate employability to determine competency in the professional workforce.展开更多
Pressure on land tenure is having a negative impact on the coconut sector, reducing farmers’ incomes. Intercropping cultivars plantain under coconut based has been considered as a solution to this problem. The aim of...Pressure on land tenure is having a negative impact on the coconut sector, reducing farmers’ incomes. Intercropping cultivars plantain under coconut based has been considered as a solution to this problem. The aim of this work is to diversify the sources of income for coconut growers. The plantain variety PITA 3, popularised by the CNRA, was grown in coconut inter-rows (PB113<sup>+</sup>), with two types of manure (chemical, organic). Six (06) treatments D1, D2, D3, D4, D5 and D6 were studied. In the tenth month after planting, treatment D3, which included banana plants fertilised with 9 kg of manure/plant, got the best agromorphological performance: height (264.08 cm), neck circumference (57.68 cm) and 12 leaves. In terms of production parameters, D3 banana plants had a shorter production cycle (347 days) and the highest diet mass (9.3 kg). However, the plants that received no fertiliser (D6) showed stunted growth and were unable to produce brunch. The fertilization of plantain with 10 t/ha of laying hen droppings permitted good development and production of plantains on tertiary sands.展开更多
Background: Hypertension is a persistent elevation of blood pressure in the arteries which if not properly managed can lead to stroke, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, peripheral vascular disease and other life thr...Background: Hypertension is a persistent elevation of blood pressure in the arteries which if not properly managed can lead to stroke, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, peripheral vascular disease and other life threatening outcomes. This study investigated some haematological parameters of Primary hypertensive subjects. Objectives: To compare some haematological parameters (haematocrit, haemoglobin concentration, Platelets count, White Blood Cells count, red blood cell count and Red Cells Indices between hypertensive and normotensive subjects. Materials and methods: Blood samples were collected from 76 known hypertensive subjects between 30 - 70 years attending the Cardiology clinic of the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital Gwagwalada. Another 37 normotensive subjects between 30 - 65 years served as the control. All subjects gave their consents. Platelets count, Haemoglobin estimation, Packed Cell Volume, Red Blood Cell Count, Mean Cell Volume, Mean Cell Haemoglobin, Mean Cell Haemoglobin Concentration and White Blood Cell count were determined using Mythic 22 five parts haematology analyzer. Results: Results for Hypertensive and Control subjects were, White Blood Cell, 5.76 ± 1.45 × 10<sup>9</sup>/l and 4.76 ± 1.03 × 10<sup>9</sup>/l, Platelet count, 248.7552.45 × 10<sup>9</sup>/l and 284.95 ± 27.66 × 10<sup>9</sup>/l, Mean Cell Volume, 91.81 ± 3.05 fl and 85.68 ± 6.48 fl, Mean Cell Haemoglobin, 30.59 ± 1.04 pg and 27.922 ± 2.74 pg, Mean Cell Haemoglobin Concentration, 33.34 ± 0.61 g/dl and 32.32 ± 0.93 g/dl, Red Blood Cell, 4.33 ± 0.39 × 10<sup>9</sup>/l and 4.50 ± 0.52 × 10<sup>9</sup>/l, Packed Cell Volume, 39% ± 3.15% and 40% ± 4.41% and Haemoglobin, 13.21 ± 1.10 g/dl and 13.50 ± 1.63 g/dl respectively. Mean Cell Volume, Mean Cell Haemoglobin, Mean Cell Haemoglobin Concentration (Red cells indices) were significantly higher in hypertensive compared to normotensive subjects (P 0.05), total White Blood Cell count was also higher in hypertensive than normotensive but not statistically significant (P > 0.05). However, Platelet counts, Red Blood Cell, Packed Cell Volume and Haemoglobin were significantly lower in hypertensive compared to normotensive (P 0.05). All the parameters were within established reference ranges for the age and sex of the subjects. Our findings show that hypertension may lead to haematological derangement, if not properly managed. Conclusively, haematological parameters can be used to monitor the prognosis of the disease and manage hypertensive related complications. It is important to assess haematological parameters for hypertensive individuals which may help to prevent complications associated with haematological disorders.展开更多
文摘Introduction: Data on mortality in acute kidney injury (AKI) derives from high-income countries where AKI is hospital-acquired and occurs in elderly patients with a high burden of cardiovascular disease. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), AKI is community-acquired occurring in healthy young adults. We aimed to identify predictors of fatal outcomes in patients with AKI in two tertiary hospitals in Cameroon. Methods: Medical records of adults with confirmed AKI, from January 2018 to March 2020 were retrieved. The outcomes of interest were in-hospital deaths and presumed causes of death. We used multiple logistic regressions modeling to identify predictors of death. The study was approved by the ethics boards of both hospitals. Values were considered significant for a p-value of 0.05. Results: We included 285 patient records (37.2% females). The mean (SD) age was 50.1 (19.0) years. Hypertension (n = 97, 34.0%), organ failure (n = 88, 30.9%), and diabetes (n = 60, 21.1%) were the main comorbidities. The majority of patients had community-acquired AKI (78.6%, n = 224), were KDIGO stage 3 (88.8%, n = 253), and needed dialysis (52.6%, n = 150). Up to 16.7% (n = 25) did not receive what was needed. The in-hospital mortality rate was 29.1% (n = 83). Lack of access to dialysis (OR = 27.8;CI: 5.2 - 149.3, p = 0.001), hypotension (OR = 11.8;CI: 1.3 - 24.8;p = 0.001) and ICU admission (OR = 5.7;CI: 1.3 - 24.8, p = 0.001) were predictors of mortality. The presence of co-morbidities or underlying diseases (n = 46, 55%) were the main causes of death. Conclusions: In-hospital AKI mortality is high, as in other low- and middle-income economies. Lack of access to dialysis and the severity of the underlying illness are major predictors of death.
文摘Context: COVID-19 can spread rapidly in haemodialysis centres, leading to fatal outcomes. Implementing physical measures is crucial in limiting the spread of infection. Aims: To assess adherence to physical measures against SARS-Cov2 in haemodialysis patients. Methods and Material: From 13 to 19 July 2021, we administered the questionnaire to haemodialysis patients during or immediately after the dialysis session. The dependent variables were adherence to wearing masks, hand washing outside the dialysis centre, social distancing of at least 1.5 meters, and cough and sneeze hygiene. Statistical Analysis Used: Data were analyzed using Epi info software;descriptive statistics were presented as mean, headcount, and percentage;related factors were determined by multi-logistic regression. The significance level was 5%. The Health Research Ethics Committee approved the research protocol. Results: 142 patients were included (mean age: 42.5 ± 14 years). Wearing masks, hand-washing, social distancing, and coughing and sneezing hygiene were observed by 88%, 75%, 47%, and 60% of patients, respectively. Conclusion: Wearing masks was the most respected physical measure, while social distancing was the least respected.
文摘Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of two interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) (QuantiFERON-TB Plus (QFT-plus) and T-SPOT.TB assay) for patients suspected of having tuberculosis (TB) infection as supportive methods for diagnosing TB. Patients and Methods: The subjects consisted of 45 patients who required clinical differentiation of TB disease from June 2019 to August 2023. The final clinical diagnoses were: 14 patients with active TB disease, 4 with latent TB infection (LTBI), 17 with old (cured) TB disease, and 10 with pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) disease. We used the two IGRAs for these patients and evaluated the data according to the manufacturer’s guidelines for interpretation or FDA-approved cutoffs. Results: Among the total of 14 patients with active TB disease (mean age: 64 years old, male: 9, and female: 5), a positive response was noted in 10 patients (71%) on QFT-plus and 9 (64%) on T-SPOT.TB. Four patients with a negative response on QFT-plus and T-SPOT.TB were elderly or cancer patients with lymphocytopenia or hypoalbuminemia. All four patients with LTBI showed a positive response (100%) on both QFT-plus and T-SPOT.TB. Among the seventeen patients with old (cured) TB disease, a positive response was noted in 8 patients (47%) on QFT-plus and 9 (53%) on T-SPOT.TB. All patients with pulmonary NTM disease showed a negative response on both QFT-plus and T-SPOT.TB. Conclusions: A false-negative response on QFT-plus as well as T-SPOT.TB was recognized in elderly patients and patients with an immunosuppressed condition, and half of patients with old (cured) TB showed no negative conversion after the completion of treatment through this study. Although it was recently reported that the positive response rate on QFT-plus of patients with active TB disease was high, we consider it necessary to be careful in diagnosing TB infection using IGRAs for patients with severe underlying diseases in a tertiary hospital based on the results.
文摘The value of system assimilation is to improve working relationships between tutors and learners while increasing workflow efficiency among tertiary institutions with low operational costs. E-skills could be described as electronic education development, to assist ICT professionals to reach their future career goals and aim to help users boost their ICT skills. In a society that is expanding, it is also a crucial issue to take into account. Researchers have turned their attention to this topic because of its significance and contribution to the empowerment of graduates in digital education. Many scholars have proposed many methods for integrating e-skills into society with impressive results, but the rising rate of graduate unemployment in South Africa is gradually becoming a big worry in our society. A model based on Activity Theory (AT) and e-skills will be developed in our tertiary institution to equip graduates with skills that will increase their employability and provide more individualized work opportunities as part of this study’s effort to solve this issue. With the use of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and Cronbach’s Alpha for validity and reliability testing, the study will create an experimental performance to assess the approach taken to measure e-skills in tertiary institutions to empower graduates in South Africa. The study established that system development and e-skilled models for tertiary institutions are growing gradually, especially in South African institutions, that empower graduates with profitable employability with experiences to improve work operation in the industries. In conclusion, system development and e-skills are very demanding but important to empower graduate employability to determine competency in the professional workforce.
文摘Pressure on land tenure is having a negative impact on the coconut sector, reducing farmers’ incomes. Intercropping cultivars plantain under coconut based has been considered as a solution to this problem. The aim of this work is to diversify the sources of income for coconut growers. The plantain variety PITA 3, popularised by the CNRA, was grown in coconut inter-rows (PB113<sup>+</sup>), with two types of manure (chemical, organic). Six (06) treatments D1, D2, D3, D4, D5 and D6 were studied. In the tenth month after planting, treatment D3, which included banana plants fertilised with 9 kg of manure/plant, got the best agromorphological performance: height (264.08 cm), neck circumference (57.68 cm) and 12 leaves. In terms of production parameters, D3 banana plants had a shorter production cycle (347 days) and the highest diet mass (9.3 kg). However, the plants that received no fertiliser (D6) showed stunted growth and were unable to produce brunch. The fertilization of plantain with 10 t/ha of laying hen droppings permitted good development and production of plantains on tertiary sands.
文摘Background: Hypertension is a persistent elevation of blood pressure in the arteries which if not properly managed can lead to stroke, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, peripheral vascular disease and other life threatening outcomes. This study investigated some haematological parameters of Primary hypertensive subjects. Objectives: To compare some haematological parameters (haematocrit, haemoglobin concentration, Platelets count, White Blood Cells count, red blood cell count and Red Cells Indices between hypertensive and normotensive subjects. Materials and methods: Blood samples were collected from 76 known hypertensive subjects between 30 - 70 years attending the Cardiology clinic of the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital Gwagwalada. Another 37 normotensive subjects between 30 - 65 years served as the control. All subjects gave their consents. Platelets count, Haemoglobin estimation, Packed Cell Volume, Red Blood Cell Count, Mean Cell Volume, Mean Cell Haemoglobin, Mean Cell Haemoglobin Concentration and White Blood Cell count were determined using Mythic 22 five parts haematology analyzer. Results: Results for Hypertensive and Control subjects were, White Blood Cell, 5.76 ± 1.45 × 10<sup>9</sup>/l and 4.76 ± 1.03 × 10<sup>9</sup>/l, Platelet count, 248.7552.45 × 10<sup>9</sup>/l and 284.95 ± 27.66 × 10<sup>9</sup>/l, Mean Cell Volume, 91.81 ± 3.05 fl and 85.68 ± 6.48 fl, Mean Cell Haemoglobin, 30.59 ± 1.04 pg and 27.922 ± 2.74 pg, Mean Cell Haemoglobin Concentration, 33.34 ± 0.61 g/dl and 32.32 ± 0.93 g/dl, Red Blood Cell, 4.33 ± 0.39 × 10<sup>9</sup>/l and 4.50 ± 0.52 × 10<sup>9</sup>/l, Packed Cell Volume, 39% ± 3.15% and 40% ± 4.41% and Haemoglobin, 13.21 ± 1.10 g/dl and 13.50 ± 1.63 g/dl respectively. Mean Cell Volume, Mean Cell Haemoglobin, Mean Cell Haemoglobin Concentration (Red cells indices) were significantly higher in hypertensive compared to normotensive subjects (P 0.05), total White Blood Cell count was also higher in hypertensive than normotensive but not statistically significant (P > 0.05). However, Platelet counts, Red Blood Cell, Packed Cell Volume and Haemoglobin were significantly lower in hypertensive compared to normotensive (P 0.05). All the parameters were within established reference ranges for the age and sex of the subjects. Our findings show that hypertension may lead to haematological derangement, if not properly managed. Conclusively, haematological parameters can be used to monitor the prognosis of the disease and manage hypertensive related complications. It is important to assess haematological parameters for hypertensive individuals which may help to prevent complications associated with haematological disorders.