Patterns of injury and violence in Yaoundé Cameroon: an analysis of hospital data.

BackgroundInjuries are quickly becoming a leading cause of death globally, disproportionately affecting sub-Saharan Africa, where reports on the epidemiology of injuries are extremely limited. Reports on the patterns and frequency of injuries are available from Cameroon are also scarce. This study explores the patterns of trauma seen at the emergency ward of the busiest trauma center in Cameroon's capital city.Materials and methodsAdministrative records from January 1, 2007, through December 31, 2007, were retrospectively reviewed; information on age, gender, mechanism of injury, and outcome was abstracted for all trauma patients presenting to the emergency ward. Univariate analysis was performed to assess patterns of injuries in terms of mechanism, date, age, and gender. Bivariate analysis was used to explore potential relationships between demographic variables and mechanism of injury.ResultsA total of 6,234 injured people were seen at the Central Hospital of Yaoundé's emergency ward during the year 2007. Males comprised 71% of those injured, and the mean age of injured patients was 29 years (SD = 14.9). Nearly 60% of the injuries were due to road traffic accidents, 46% of which involved a pedestrian. Intentional injuries were the second most common mechanism of injury (22.5%), 55% of which involved unarmed assault. Patients injured in falls were more likely to be admitted to the hospital (p < 0.001), whereas patients suffering intentional injuries and bites were less likely to be hospitalized (p < 0.001). Males were significantly more likely to be admitted than females (p < 0.001)DiscussionPatterns in terms of age, gender, and mechanism of injury are similar to reports from other countries from the same geographic region, but the magnitude of cases reported is high for a single institution in an African city the size of Yaoundé. As the burden of disease is predicted to increase dramatically in sub-Saharan Africa, immediate efforts in prevention and treatment in Cameroon are strongly warranted

Anatomy and Embryology of the Colon, Rectum, and Anus

A deep understanding of anatomy is mandatory for proper care of patients whether it is for diagnosing pathology, determining treatment options, or having meaningful discussions with other providers. In this chapter, we review the anatomy and embryology of the anal canal, pelvic floor, colon, and rectum. Special emphasis is placed on clinically meaningful concepts for the practicing surgeon

Understanding Time-Activity Curve and TimeIntegrated Activity Variations in Radiopharmaceutical Therapy:Experience from the TACTIC AAPM Grand Challenge 2023

Aim/Introduction: The process of determining time-activity curves (TACs) for radiopharmaceutical therapy (RPT) relies heavily on user- and site-specifc steps, impacting time-integrated activity (TIA) and, efectively, absorbed dose calculations. Despite TIA’sclinical signifcance, there is no consensus on data processing methods nor an understanding of how user-dependent TAC calculation afects personalized RPT dosimetry. In 2023, the TACTIC AAPM Grand Challenge was created to address these challenges. This work presents results and insights from the challenge. Materials and Methods: Launched in January 2023, the TACTIC challenge consisted of three phases: warm-up (P0), individual patient-based TAC ftting (P1), and population-based TAC ftting (P2). Participants were provided with pre-processed synthetic biokinetic data of [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 (kidney, blood, and tumor) and tasked with modeling the TAC and calculating TIA values for each target organ. Additionally, participants submitted information about the TAC type and parameters used for ft optimization. The best-performing team in P1 and P2 was determined by the lowest total root mean squared error (RMSE) error over the organs. Results: A total of 132 individuals from over 30 countries registered for the challenge, representing a diverse mix of highly experienced dosimetry groups, industryprofessionals, and newcomers to RPT dosimetry. Among them, 73 participants requested data, of which 35 (P0), 35 (P1) and 28 (P2) submitted their results. Across the three phases, 13 diferentft functions were utilized, with varying advanced model selection criteria and levels of uncertainty incorporation. Notably, the biexponential function was most prevalent, utilized in 51% (P1) and 32% (P2) of submissions, while the least square objective functionwas the primary choice for 40% of submissions (P1). Despite the challenge’s nature, only a minority of participants—6 in P1 and 8 in P2—incorporated uncertainty budgets into their TIAC calculations. Population-based information was utilized in only 7 submissions during P2. Interestingly, no correlations were found between choice of ft function, objective function, uncertainty i ncorporation, or population information use and participants’ performance. Winners in each phase employed diverse models and objective functions. However, the top-performing participants consistently integrated uncertainty information when selectingthe most suitable TAC model. A decrease in some participants’ performance from P1 to P2 when including uncertainty or population-based information suggests that more guidance and training is needed to use them efectively. Conclusion: The TACTIC challenge results ofer insights into global TAC modeling practices, revealing signifcant variations in result quality. This underscores the importance of education in TAC ftting methodologies