Migration of a Progestin Implant into a Pulmonary Artery: Observation of a Case at the Reference Health Center of Commune III of the District of Bamako in Mali

It was a 36-year-old patient, 5th Pregnancy, 5th Delivery, 4 live children, and I deceased, had a consultation in the department for the removal of implants. Questioning revealed that she had had the implant three years ago without medical follow-up. It was in view of the difficulties in extracting the capsule that the chest X-ray and CT scan carried out concluded that the implant had migrated into a branch of the left pulmonary artery. Therapeutic abstention has been the attitude of cardiovascular surgeons.

Prevalence and Etiologies of Obstructive Renal Failure in the Nephrology Department of the University Hospital Center of Point G, Bamako, Mali

Introduction: Obstructive renal failure (ORF) or obstructive uropathy is defined by the simultaneous presence of impaired renal function and urinary excretory tract dilatation on medical imaging. It accounts for 2% to 10% of the causes of acute renal failure (ARF). Objective: To determine the prevalence and etiologies of ORF in the nephrology department of the University Hospital Center of Point G. Methodology: This was a descriptive study with retrospective data collection conducted from January 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018. All patients hospitalized with renal failure due to urinary tract obstruction were included. The parameters studied were age, gender, etiology, type of renal impairment, procedures performed, surgical outcomes of the procedure, pre-and post-management creatinine levels. Information on these clinical and paraclinical variables was collected from individual hospitalization and patient follow-up records. Results: Among 1133 patients, 83 had obstructive renal failure, a prevalence of 7.32%. The sex ratio was 1.86. The mean age was 48.99 ± 6.81 years with extremes of 7 and 102 years. Signs suggestive of lower urinary tract obstruction were, in order of frequency: dysuria (50.6%), urinary burns (44.6%), urinary frequency (44.6%), pollakiuria (44.6%), macroscopic hematuria (25.3%), low back pain (21.6%), total anuria (18.1%). The etiologies were dominated by lithiasis 36 cases (43.4%), tumours 32 cases (38.55%) followed by sequelae of bilharziasis 12 cases (14.50%). Conclusion: Obstructive renal failure is becoming more and more common. The etiology is essentially of lithiasic and tumor origin. It must be treated early to allow total or partial recovery of renal function.

Congenital Heart Disease: Epidemiological and Echocardiography Aspects in the Cardiology Department of Tombouctou Hospital, Mali

Congenital heart diseases are abnormalities of heart that occur during intrauterine life. Our work aimed to study the epidemiological and echocardiographic aspects of congenital heart disease with Cardiology Department of the Tombouctou hospital. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study from November 2018 to December 31, 2019 on Doppler echocardiography reports from patients admitted to the Cardiology department. The probes used were 3.5 and 5 MHz on an Esaote Mylab40 device. The inclusion criteria concerned patients of both sexes under the age of 16, hospitalized or followed in the cardiology department for cardiac symptoms and having benefited from a cardiac Doppler ultrasound. Results: During the study period, 370 echocardiographic examinations were performed and revealed 20 cases of congenital heart disease with a prevalence of 5.45%. The female sex was the majority 13/7 cases which makes a sex ratio of 0.54. Heart murmurs were the main reason for requesting cardiac Doppler ultrasound with the 13 out of 20 cases of congenital heart disease (65%). Interventricular communication was represented by 15 cases (75%). Congenital heart disease is a reality in Africa. Its frequency and reported series are underestimated due to the inaccessibility of Doppler echocardiography.

Obstetricians and pregnant women from Formiga’s town, in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Deciding what kind of labor to be held

The decision of what kind of labor that should be held is intermittently generating a great debate in Brazil. The growth in the number of cesarean sections has raised worries in some of the involved sectors of the society. It was proposed to investigate the factors which lead the women to take this decision, trying to understand the principle involved. A bibliographic review about the subject was made. The research happened in the town of Formiga, where some data were collected in two hospitals—public and private —about the number of labors during two months. Subsequently, the obstetricians and a group of pregnant women were submitted to a questionnaire, the answers were compiled and transformed into graphs which were analyzed. Finally, the data were compared with the related literature. The number of cesarean sections in the town was above the standard recommended. According to the obstetricians, the main reason would be the preference of the pregnant women, fact which was not confirmed by them, that discrepancy was confirmed by the literature. The level of information about the clinical indications for the type of labor was considered satisfactory by the doctors and the pregnant women, data contestable by the academics. The fear and the pain were identified by obstetricians and pregnant women as a predominant factor for the preference of cesarean sections, provided that, according to the literature, shows the precariousness of information for pregnant women about the normal birth. Another important data is that the doctors can have an important role in the kind of labor to be made. According to the obstetricians, their role would be very limited, but according to some pregnant women, they did trust in the doctors which should be the ideal labor for them. The analysis of most of the data collected shows a discrepancy between the information of pregnant women and obstetricians. Both sides involved in the issue do not admit as responsible for the elevate number of cesarean sections, so, some new approaches are needed for analysis. This analysis and diagnosis indicate the next step of the research: the supervision of the pregnant women, since the beginning of the gestation until the birth, trying to figure out the real factors which lead them to decide what kind of delivery should be taken.

Mammography during Breast Cancer Awareness Month Campaigns in Lomé(Togo): In Relation to 1074 Cases over a Period of 5 Years

Background: This study aimed to describe the results of mammography done during breast cancer awareness campaigns in Lomé. Methods: This was a retrospective multicenter study which focused on the analysis of mammographic examinations, with or without breast ultrasound, carried out in three (3) clinics in Lomé over a period of five (5) years during the breast cancer awareness month (Pink October) campaigns. We included in our study women of all ages who underwent a mammography during the study period. Additional ultrasound was performed as needed in some women to better characterize a lesion. The parameters studied were socio-demographic data, and aspects of breast lesions. We classified the lesions in order of severity according to the BI-RADS classification. Results: During the study we counted one thousand and seventy-four (1074) women who underwent mammography examinations, corresponding to an average of 214.8 women per year. The median age of the women was 46 years. The most represented age group was 40 - 49, constituting 30% of cases. Mammography was performed on all women and ultrasound was performed on 51.3% of women. Lesions suspicious for malignancy (BI-RADS IV) and lesions highly suggestive of malignancy (BI-RADS V) represented 3.5% and 1.9% of cases respectively, amounting to a prevalence of 5.4%. They occurred more frequently from the age of 30 years with a statistically significant difference (p = 0.02). These lesions could be identified on mammograms as masses with irregular shapes and spiculated margins representing 16.1% and 9.7% of masses respectively. On ultrasound, these were solid masses with irregular and ill-defined borders, representing 25.2% and 5.2% of solid masses respectively. Lesions suspicious for malignancy were most often found in the UOQ (upper outer quadrant) in 70% of cases. Conclusion: Mammography screening for breast cancer remains a necessity in our community, even if the rate of cancer detected remains low. It allows for early diagnosis of cancers, promoting better management.

Current State of Affairs with Regard to Continuing Medical Education for Technicians in Radiology in Francophone West Africa

Background: This study aimed to determine the level of continuing medical education (CME) of medical imaging technicians in French-speaking West Africa. Materials and methods: This opinion survey was administered to radiology technicians in French-speaking West Africa from 1st June to 31st October 2020, i.e. over a period of 5 months concerning their level of CME and their need for CME. Results: Out of 100 technicians, 69% were men. The mean age was 40 years, with extremes ranging from age 23 to age 57. The majority of technicians (64%) worked in the public sector and 78% had work experience of less than 11 years. Most technicians were holders of a Bachelor’s degree (73%). The types of CMEs they knew were congresses, seminars, and modular training in 46% of the cases. The most available CMEs were seminars (63%). All technicians agreed on the need for CME and 96% said it had an impact on the delivery of radiology services. Technicians who had received CME at least once represented 61%. For 90% of technicians, the specific CME sought was management in radiology (33.33%) and radiation protection (25.81%). Conclusion: The need for CME is increasingly indisputable to radiology technicians in French-speaking West Africa;however, it remains a luxury for them, due to its scarcity and its high cost.

Lung Cancer in Women

At the same smoking level, women have a higher risk of lung cancer. The aim of the study was to evaluate epidemiological, clinical and histological profile of women＇s lung cancer. A retrospective study including women patients with a confirmed lung cancer followed at the Pneumology Department of University Hospital Center Mohammed VI of Marrakesh in Morocco between January 2010 and December 2014. 14 cases were included in the study. The average age of patients was 54.2 years. Active smoking was noted in 2 patients （14.4%）. The chest X-ray showed an atelectasis in 6 cases （42.8%）, hilar opacity in 6 cases （42.8%） and alveolar opacity in 2 cases （14.4%）, pleural effusion was present in 3 cases （21.4%）. Histological confirmation was obtained in 10 cases （71.4%） by bronchial biopsy, 2 cases with pleural biopsy （14.4%）, one case （7.1%） by lymph node biopsy and one case trans-parietal biopsy （7.1%）. An adenocarcinoma was found in 9 cases （64.3%）, squamous cell carcinoma in 4 cases （28.6%） and small cell carcinoma in one case （7.14%）. The study shows that the lung cancer in women in our context occurs more often in non-smoker patients and it＇s usually an adenocarcinoma type.