Interêt du score d'Alvarado dans la prise en charge de l'appendicite aiguë au centre hospitalier universitaire Sourô Sanou de Bobo Dioulasso / interest of score d'Alvarado in the management of acute appendicitis at the Sourô Sanou university teaching hospital in Bobo Dioulasso

Le but de ce travail était d'appliquer le score d'Alvarado et d'évaluer son intérêt dans la prise en charge des patients suspects d'appendicite aigue. Patients et méthodes : Il s'est agi d'une étude transversale à visée descriptive allant du 1er janvier 2019 au 31 Mars 2021, incluant les patients admis pour suspicion d'appendicite aiguë. Résultats : Notre étude a porté sur 152 patients avec un sex-ratio de 1,7, une moyenne d'âge de 28,6 ans. Le score d'Alvarado était supérieur ou égal à 7 chez 65,8 % des patients, compris entre 4 et 7 chez 31 %, et inférieur à 4 chez 3,3 %. Pour un score compris entre 7 et 10, les données de performance du score sont de 71,5 %, 86,7 %, 98 %, 2 % et 5,1 pour la sensibilité, la spécificité, la valeur prédictive positive, la valeur prédictive négative, et le rapport de vraisemblance positif respectivement. Parmi les patients, 124 ont réalisé une échographie abdominale, 145 ont été opérés, 137 avaient un diagnostic final d'appendicite aigue. Quinze patients n'avaient pas une appendicite aigue et le taux d'appendicectomie sur appendicite sain était de 5,5%. Conclusion : le score d'Alvarado permet de réduire les hospitalisations, les examens d'imagerie et le délai de prise en charge dans les appendicites aiguës.

The aim of this work was to apply the Alvarado score and to evaluate its interest in the management of patients suspected of acute appendicitis. Patients and methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study from January 1, 2019 to March 31, 2021, including patients admitted for suspected acute appendicitis. Results: Our study involved 152 patients with a sex ratio of 1.7, an average age of 28.6 years. The Alvarado score was greater than or equal to 7 in 65.8% of patients, between 4 and 7 in 31%, and less than 4 in 3.3%. For a score between 7 and 10, the score performance data are 71.5%, 86.7%, 98%, 2% and 5.1 for sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and the positive likelihood ratio respectively. Among the patients, 124 performed an abdominal ultrasound, 145 were operated, 137 had a final diagnosis of acute appendicitis. Fifteen patients did not have acute appendicitis and the white laparotomy rate was 5.5%. Conclusion: the Alvarado score reduces hospitalizations, imaging examinations and the time to treatment in acute appendicitis.

Correlation between colposcopic impression and histologic diagnosis of premalignant lesions of the cervix

Background: Cervical cancer is the commonest cancer in sub-Saharan African with majority of the women presenting with an advanced disease stage. This is largely due to the unavailability of an established cervical cancer screening programme in most countries. This also includes the use of colposcopy which is still not available to many gynaecologists practicing in Nigeria. Aim: To review reports of colposcopy carried out at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Abuja, Nigeria and to determine the degree of concurrence between colposcopic impression and histologic diagnosis. Methods: A retrospective analysis of the colposcopic findings of 84 patients was done. Subsequent correlation with histopathology report was carried out in 53 patients who had colposcopically directed biopsies between March 2012 and February 2014. Results: The commonest impression made on colposcopy was high grade CIN in 40(47.6%) patients. The concurrence rate between colposcopic findings and histology diagnosis was 64.2% (34/53) {K =0.302, 95%CI= -0.010-0.436}. The concurrence rate was higher for high grade CIN 29/40(72.5%) than for low grade CIN 5/12 (41.7 %). There was an overestimation of colposcopic diagnosis in 13(24.5%) patients and an underestimation in 6(11.3%) patients. The sensitivity of colposcopy for detecting high grade lesions or more was 32/36(88.9%) while the specificity was 8/17(47.1%). False positive rate for high grade lesions was 9/17(52.9%) and false negative rates for low grade lesions was 4/36(11.1%). Positive predictive value (PPV) of high grade colposcopic diagnosis or more was 32/41(78.04%) while the negative predictive value (NPV) was 8/12(66.73%). Conclusion: The strength of agreement between colposcopic diagnosis and cervical pathology was fair and colposcopy performs better in the detection of high grade lesions

Identification of Interaction Tests of Predictive Biomarkers in Cancer Clinical Trials

Predictive biomarkers are covariates that interact with treatment in relation to the outcome and thus; predictive biomarkers are characterized by interactions between the treatment and covariates. Many questions remain unanswered in this topic: What is the best design for detecting and validating a predictive biomarker? What can be the sample size required? What could be the statistical methods used to identify those interactions? The major problem of interaction tests is that they lack power; so that a very large trial would be required for the test to reach significance. The identification of a predictive factor becomes difficult if interactions of higher orders have to be investigated. We discussed the use of Martingale residuals combined with the classification and regression trees (CART) to identify which could be the optimal cut point in a continuous marker through data simulation. Our findings using these methods were very close to the expected results given the parameters of the simulation. Our conclusion is that the CART applied to Martingale residuals can be the good alternative of identifying predictive biomarkers. In practice we may need a cut point for a predictive biomarker so that we can know who among patients can benefit from the treatment and those who may be harmed by the treatment; especially when drugs are highly toxic

Prediction of functional capacity during six-minute walk among patients with chronic heart failure

Formulae for predicting functional capacity during 6-minue walk are lacking and the accuracy of the existing formulae has been challenged in deferent populations. The purpose of this study was to develop an equation that would be useful in predicting functional capacity in form of maximum oxygen consumption) (V0 ) in Chronic Heart Failure Patients (CHF) during exercise. Sixty-five subjects were recruited for the study. The procedure required the subjects to walk on a self paced speed on a 20 meter marked level ground for 6 minutes. The distance covered in 6 minutes was measured and the speed calculated. The result showed that the distance covered was highly correlated with the VO2 (0.65; p 0.01). The regression analysis revealed that a linear equation model developed was a good predictor ofV0 for the group. The study concluded that in situation where sophisticated equipments are lacking; this equation might be useful during exercise supervision for patients withCHF. [VO2 (ml kg-1 min-1)

Determinants of child mortality in south-west Uganda

Anthropometric and sociodemographic variables were taken from 4320 children in a baseline survey carried out in March-April 1988 in the district of Mbarara; south-west Uganda. After 12 months a follow-up survey assessed the mortality of the children during the preceding year. Lack of ownership of cattle; recent arrival in the village; using candles for lighting; being of birth order higher than 5 and having a father with less than 8 years of schooling were significantly associated with child mortality. The addition of mid-upper arm circumference significantly improved the logistic model of socioeconomic variables and mortality and did not diminish the predictive power of socioeconomic variables in relation to increased mortality. This suggests that nutritional status and specific socioeconomic factors are both; independently; important predictors of child mortality

Seroepidemiology of HIV infection: an early survey in a peripheral area of Uganda

At the end of 1985; when the AIDS epidemic was in its early stages in Uganda; a survey was carried out in a peripheral area of the country. Sera were collected from groups of people; and examined for the presence of HIV infection. The results show a very limited number of positive cases; present only among sexually active subjects. High specificity and sensitivity in the laboratory tests was shown by the Western blot technique