Patient treatment cost of oral diseases in Ghana

Objectives: To estimate patient treatment cost of oral diseases in Ghana Design: A cross-sectional study design using cost-of-illness analysis was employed Setting: The study was conducted at the dental unit of the University of Ghana Hospital, Legon Participants: About185 patients attending the dental unit of the hospital were selected Interventions: None Main outcome measures: Direct medical and non-medical costs, indirect costs, and intangible costs of treatment of oral conditions Results: The estimated average cost of treatment for oral diseases was US$ 35.75. The total cost was US$ 6,614.11, with the direct and indirect costs constituting 94.5% and 5.5%, respectively of the total cost. Direct medical costs constituted 86.9%, while direct non-medical costs constituted 13.1% of the total direct cost. The richer socio-economic group had the highest cost per quintile, with a mean of US$ 46.69. The intangible cost described was highest for pain (47.1%), followed by difficulty in eating (40.8%) and sleeping (34.6%) for both men and women. Conclusion: The costs of oral diseases are huge and cannot be overlooked. Oral diseases also pose significant productivity losses to patients

Study of the correlation between Helicobacter pylori infection and Hepatic Encephalopathy in patients with Liver Cirrhosis

Background and study aim: Ammonia plays a major role in hepatic encephalopathy pathogenesis. Most of ammonia is known to be produced by the action of colonic bacteria which possess a urease enzyme activity. H. pylori which infects the stomach possesses a stronger urease activity which produce a large amount of ammonia that may precipitate hepatic encephalopathy (HE). The aim of the present study is to determine the correlation between Helicobacter pylori infection and HE in patients with liver cirrhosis.Patients and Methods: One hundred patients (50 patients of liver cirrhosis with hepatic encephalopathy and 50 patients of liver cirrhosis without hepatic encephalo-pathy) were evaluated for presence of H. pylori by stool antigen test (ELISA method) and for blood ammonia level estimation.Results: Prevalence of H. pylori infection in the study groups (patients of liver cirrhosis with and without hepatic encephalopathy) was 70% (liver cirrhosis with hepatic encephalopathy group (A) 80%, and liver cirrhosis without hepatic encephalopathy group (B) 60%). Mean blood ammonia levels were: 82.14± 47.9 mmol/l for group A (liver cirrhosis with hepatic encephalopathy) and 36.44± 17.9 mmol/l for group B (liver cirrhosis without hepatic encephalopathy). Prevalence of H. pylori and blood ammonia level were found significantly increasing with the severity and the degree of hepatic encephalopathy.Conclusion: There is a significant association between H. pylori and hepatic encephalopathy in patients with liver cirrhosis. There may be a role of anti-H. pylori therapy in patients of hepatic encephalopathy and should be investigated further

HIV/AIDS and Mental Health Research in Sub-Saharan Africa: a Systematic Review

The relationship between mental illness and HIV/AIDS is complex and bidirectional. A significant amount of research has been performed in high-income countries but less is known about HIV and mental health in sub-Saharan Africa. The objectives of the review were to search the literature for quantitative studies conducted in sub-Saharan Africa on mental health and HIV and to critically evaluate and collate the studies in order to identify research needs and priorities. The databases Ovid; MEDLINE; PsycINFO and the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) were searched for variations of search terms related to HIV/AIDS and mental health and studies limited to the populations of African countries. In addition; we hand-searched indexes of key journals and the databases of academic theses. We included 104 papers or research publications. The majority of these were published after 2005. The major topics covered were: mental-health-related HIV-risk behaviour; HIV in psychiatric populations; and mental illness in HIV-positive populations. The reported prevalence levels of mental illness among people living with HIV or AIDS (PLHIV) was high; with all but one study noting a prevalence of 19or higher. Neurocognitive changes in adults with HIV were also prevalent; with reported deficits of up to 99in symptomatic PLHIV and 33in non-symptomatic PLHIV. Research on HIV in relation to mental health is increasing; however; there is a need for good-quality prospective studies to investigate the bidirectional effects of mental illness and HIV on each other

Interaction of Continuing Professional Development; Organizational Culture and Performance in Health Service Organizations: a Concept Paper

Whereas Continuing Professional Development (CPD) has been acknowledged as a tool for improving performance through updating and widening of professionals' knowledge and skills; there is no concrete evidence to support this claim. Recent studies on this subject have either shown contradicting evidence or remained utterly inconclusive posing an empirical dilemma. This paper posits that CPD is highly context-dependent and therefore best supports performance where a positive organisational culture plays a moderating role. The paper aims to provide a framework that can be used to analyse the interplay between CPD; organisational culture and performance. It is argued that for CPD to support performance there is need for a culture that is adaptive and receptive to learning; change; innovation and performance improvement

Interrelationship of growth hormone; glucose and lipid metabolism

BACKGROUND:The relationship between Growth hormone (GH) and the metabolism of glucose and lipid is not completely understood. OBJECTIVE:The present study is to obtain further information that will clarify the relationships between growth hormone and the metabolism of glucose and lipid.METHODS:The subjects were randomly selected 25 male (11) and female (14) healthy individuals aged 35.96 +/- 8.05 years. After an overnight fast (10-12 hours), blood was taken from the subjects into heparinised tubes, centrifuged at 5,000 rpm for 5 minutes and the plasma separated. Fasting plasma glucose (FBS) was determined by glucose oxidase method,, total cholesterol, LDL, HDL and, Triglyceride were determined by enzymatic methods. Hormone sensitive lipase was determined by, using dilaural-glycero-glutaric acid methyresoruffin as substrate and Cobas Integra 800 Auto-analyser. Growth Hormone was determined by Enzyme linked immunoassay method by using monoclonal antibodies and Access 2 Immunoassay system. All reagents were supplied by Roche Company.RESULT:The results showedpositive correlations between GH vs age and GH vs BMI. On the contrary, negative correlations were shown between GH vs the fasting levels of glucose,GH vs lipid and GH vs HSL.CONCLUSION:). GH caused the reduction of the blood levels of glucose and, lipid using HSL as mediator, by inhibiting gluconeogenesis and stimulating lipolysis, respectively

Etude de la corrélation entre la charge parasitaire dans l'ascaridiose et les groupes sanguins ABO

L'hérédité confère aux individus ditférentes réactions que ce soit vis-à-vis des infections ou de la maladie. C'est le cas notamment de l'ascaridiose pour laquelle certains, plus résistants, présentent de faibles charges parasitaires (CP), tandis que d'autres, plus sensibles, en présentent des plus élevées. Le présent travail a été conduit en vue d'évaluer la corrélation entre la CP dans l'ascaridiose et les groupes sanguins (GS) ABa dans l'environnement de Kinshasa. Pour ce faire, nous avons confectionné un échantillon d'étude constitué d'enfants dont l'âge était compris entre 1 et 15 ans. Ceuxci ont été recrutés au camp Lufungula (102 cas) et dans la zone de santé Eliba de Mont Ngafula (25 cas). Les sujets qui présentaient des oeufs d'Ascaris lumbricoides dans leurs selles ont été sélectionnés, et, avec l'accord des parents, leur groupe sanguin a été déterminé par la suite. La CP, exprimée en poids de vers adultes (en grammes), était reliée au nombre des oeufs et à l'age des sujets au moyen d'un modèle de régression établi expérimentalement. L'analyse des résultats a montré que les porteurs de l'antigène A (GS A et AB) avaient présenté des CP significativement plus élevées que celles observées pour les autres GS (groupes a et B). Les CP (moyenne ± erreur standard) suivantes ont été observées : 20,6 ± 2,0 g pour le groupe A, 26,1 ± 4,3 g pour le groupe AB, 15,4 ± 2,2 g pour le groupe B et 13,4 ± 1,5 g pour le groupe a. En conclusion, les porteurs de l'antigène A (GS A et AB) semblent prédisposés à porter des plus fortes CP dans l'ascaridiose comparativement au reste de la population