Patterns and trends in mortality among HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected patients in a major Internal Medicine Unit in Yaoundé, Cameroon: a retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the trends in mortality and the spectrum of disease in HIV-infected and -uninfected inpatients in a population in Yaoundé. DESIGN: A retrospective study. SETTING: Internal Medicine Unit, University Hospital Centre, Yaoundé, Cameroon. PARTICIPANTS: All deaths registered between January 2000 and May 2007 in the unit. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES: Sociodemographic characteristics, clinical features and results of all investigations done, cause of death. RESULTS: During the study period, 362 deaths were registered, consisting of 281 (77.6%) in HIV-infected patients, 54.4% of which were women. HIV-infected patients were younger (mean age: 40.2 (SD: 11.6) vs. 55.5 (SD: 18.3) years, p < 0.001) and economically active (60.3% vs. 24.4%, p < 0.001). Most HIV-infected patients (77.6%) were classified as WHO stage IV, with the rest being WHO stage III. Most HIV-infected patients (87.8%) had evidence of profound immunosuppression (CD4 < 200 cells/mm(3)). The mortality trend appeared to be declining with appropriate interventions. The most frequent causes of death in HIV-infected patients were pleural/pulmonary tuberculosis (34.2%), undefined meningoencephalitis (20.3%), other pneumonias (18.2%), toxoplasmosis (16.4%), cryptococcal meningitis (14.2%) and Kaposi sarcoma (15.7%). HIV-uninfected patients died mostly as a result of chronic diseases including liver diseases (17.3%), kidney failure (13.6%), congestive heart failure (11.1%) and stroke (9.9%). CONCLUSION: There was a declining mortality due to HIV with appropriate interventions such as subsidised tests for HIV-infected patients, increased availability of HAART and other medications for prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections. The spectrum of HIV disease was wide and preventable.

World Health Organization definition of myocardial infarction: 2008-09 revision.

BACKGROUND: WHO has played a leading role in the formulation and promulgation of standard criteria for the diagnosis of coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction since early 1970s. METHODS: The revised definition takes into consideration the following: well-resourced settings can use the ESC/ACC/AHA/WHF definition, which has new biomarkers as a compulsory feature; in resource-constrained settings, a typical biomarker pattern cannot be made a compulsory feature as the necessary assays may not be available; the definition must also have provision for diagnosing non-fatal events with incomplete information on cardiac biomarkers and the ECG; to facilitate epidemiologic monitoring definition must recognize fatal events with incomplete or no information on cardiac biomarkers and/or ECG and/or autopsy and/or coronary angiography. RESULTS: Category A definition is the same as ESC/ACC/AHA/WHF definition of MI, and can be applied to settings with no resource constraints. Category B definition of MI is to be applied whenever there is incomplete information on cardiac bio-markers together with symptoms of ischaemia and the development of unequivocal pathological Q waves. Category C definition (probable MI) is to be applied when individuals with MI may not satisfy Category A or B definitions because of delayed access to medical services and/or unavailability of electrocardiography and/or laboratory assay of cardiac biomarkers. In these situations, the term probable MI should be used when there is either ECG changes suggestive of MI or incomplete information on cardiac biomarkers in a person with symptoms of ischaemia with no evidence of a non-coronary reason. CONCLUSIONS: This article presents the 2008-09 revision of the World Health Organization (WHO) definition of myocardial infarction (MI) developed at a WHO expert consultation.

Cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction in Africans infected with human immunodeficiency virus.

The effects of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) on cardiovascular autonomic function have been little investigated in African patients. We performed standard heart-rate and blood pressure tests on 75 consecutive consenting patients referred for an HIV test in Yaounde, Cameroon. 54 patients proved to be HIV-infected (30 having progressed to AIDS). Cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction was present in 8 (28%) patients with AIDS and in 1 (4%) HIV-positive patient without AIDS; no HIV-negative individuals had abnormal results. If borderline results are included, over 80% of HIV-positive patients had cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction. In HIV-infected patients, simple tests such as blood pressure responses to standing or handgrip can warn of cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction, thus signalling the need for added precautions when invasive procedures are proposed.