A retrospective study was designed to analyse the mode of presentation, clinical signs and haematological and biochemical abnormalities in 225 consecutive Black (Zulu) patients who were admitted to a general medical ward between the years 1970 and 1981 and in whom cirrhosis was later diagnosed.
Editor – Throughout the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals across England, and the south east in particular, were under immense pressure from high COVID-19 infection rates. Many trusts have supported each other in their respective regions through mutual aid. In south-east London during the second surge, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust accepted critical care transfers and inpatient medical transfers from …
The article investigates the injury rates and patterns reported in a peri-urban setting located in the Western Cape region of South Africa. Peri-urban South African settings are often marked by poverty, unemployment and crime. While there has been some injury research in metropolitan South Africa, there is a paucity of injury data for settlements on the periphery of the city centres. This article reports on a household study conducted in a cluster of peri-urban communities in the Western Cape. Over a one-year period up to June 1998,4.8 percent of the study population (95 percent confidence interval 3.9 percent to 5.8 percent) reported an injury. The majority of injuries were due to traffic crashes (23 percent), falls (18 percent), violence (17 percent), and burns (7 percent), with a further 17 percent due to other injuries such as poisoning and sports activities. Injuries were mostly sustained in the neighbourhoods themselves, and in or around the respondents' homes. High-risk times for injury were in the afternoons, over weekends, and over the months of April, October, June and December. Most injuries were sustained by males (69.79 percent) and in the 30 to 39 year and the birth to 4-year age groups. These neighbourhood injury risk profiles and indicators provide an information base for the development of injury and trauma prevention and containment initiatives, and may assist in the implementation of similar projects in other peri-urban settings.
An 81-year-old gentleman was referred to the medical team by his general practitioner (GP) with a biochemically worsening renal function. Medical history included hypertension, chronic kidney disease and a 67 pack-year smoking history. Significantly, there was a history of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACE-i) use 3 months previously. The patient was otherwise asymptomatic. Admission bloods: Na 135 mmol/l, K 5.7 mmol/l, urea 32.7 mmol/l, creatine 358 μmol/l (baseline 150 μmol/l), estimated-glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) 14ml/min. On examination, there was a large, non-tender pulsatile mass in the abdomen. Otherwise the systems examination was …
Burn injuries in children in low- and middle-income countries are common, serious, and preventable. Despite the high burden of disease, there is a paucity of data on the profile of paediatric burns in South Africa. Such data are essential to local burn prevention strategies. A retrospective review of all recorded paediatric burns admissions to the paediatric burns unit at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital was performed from 1 January 2015 – 31 December 2020. Ethical approval was obtained. Data extracted anonymously included patient age, sex, mechanism of injury, injury severity, date of injury and residential location. A total of 2980 admissions occurred during the study period. Infants ≤ 1 year accounted for 42.2 % (1259/2980), males 61.4 % (1689/2751), hot water burns 79.1 % (2357/2980), and major injury 40.1 % (1201/2980) of admissions. Most burn injuries occurred in winter (28.2 %, 842/2980), and most admitted patients lived in Soweto 45.5 % (1355/2980). Most burns admissions in the study period were characterised by male children less than one year of age, hot water burns, major burn injuries and admissions in the winter months. These results are similar to national and international data regarding age, sex, mechanism of injury and seasonality of paediatric burns. The results from the study have been utilised to inform Surgeons For Little Lives' paediatric burns prevention campaigns in Soweto and Gauteng Province.
'%3e%3cpath fill='%23001489' d='M0 0v6h9V0z'/%3e%3cpath fill='%23e03c31' d='M0 0v3h9V0z'/%3e%3cg stroke='%23fff' stroke-width='2'%3e%3cpath id='d' d='m0 0 4.5 3L0 6m4.5-3H9'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23b' stroke='%23ffb81c' clip-path='url(%23c)'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23d' fill='none' stroke='%23007749' stroke-width='1.2'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/svg%3e)
'%3e%3cpath fill='%23012169' d='M0 0v30h60V0z'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23fff' stroke-width='6' d='m0 0 60 30m0-30L0 30'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23C8102E' stroke-width='4' d='m0 0 60 30m0-30L0 30' clip-path='url(%23b)'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23fff' stroke-width='10' d='M30 0v30M0 15h60'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23C8102E' stroke-width='6' d='M30 0v30M0 15h60'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/svg%3e)
