WHAT IS THE LINK BETWEEN FINANCE AND ECONOMIC GROWTH? A REVIEW

The paper contributes to the body of knowledge in the area of economic growth and fiancé by reviewing empirical works to assess the link and causality between economic growth and financial development. The paper is significant since economies aim at achieving economic growth and with the development of financial institutions their role in achieving economic growth needs to be assessed. Purposive sampling method was used in selecting the research works for the review. The sources of information are journals and conference papers. These findings have been mixed or inconsistent. There is significant positive relation between finance and economic growth in some studies while as other studies could not established the same findings. In some studies there is unidirectional causality while as in other studies there is bidirectional causality. This calls for further studies to contribute to the debate using multiple models that are recent in a single study. Keywords: Economic growth; financial development; causalit

Flexible bronchoscopy in a tertiary healthcare facility: a review of indications and outcomes

Objectives: Flexible Fibreoptic bronchoscopy (FFB) is a major diagnostic and therapeutic tool employed largely in respiratory medicine but its use in our country has been quite limited. We performed a retrospective review of the indications, overall diagnostic yield and safety of FFB at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH).Study Design: Retrospective studyStudy Setting: Cardiothoracic Unit, Korle-Bu Teaching HospitalStudy Participants: All bronchoscopy records from January 2017 - December 2018Interventions: Eight-five bronchoscopy reports generated over a 2-year period were reviewed. Using a data extraction form, patient’s demographic details, indications for FFB, sedation given, specimen obtained and results of investigation, and complications encountered were recorded and entered into SPSS version 22. Descriptive analysiswas performed and presented as means and percentages.Results: Suspected lung cancer was the predominant indication for bronchoscopy requests (55.3%). Diagnostic yield of endobronchial biopsy was 86.7% increased to 93.3% when biopsy was combined with bronchial washing cytology. Bronchial washing geneXpert was positive in 20.8% of sputum negative cases, and 20.7% of patients with unresolved pneumonia and bronchiectasis had a positive microbial yield. Overall mild complications occurred in 5.9% of patients with no mortality.Conclusion: Flexible bronchoscopy has a significantly high diagnostic yield, particularly in evaluating lung cancers and undiagnosed lung infections with minimal associated complications, hence increasing its availability in the country and widening the diagnostic scope at the cardiothoracic unit of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital

Retrospective Study of an Epidemic Vibrio cholerae in the Central Region of Ghana

Background: In October 2016, a cholera outbreak occurred in the Cape Coast Metropolis, Central Region, Ghana, spreading rapidly in peri-urban communities.The Researchers conducted a descriptive analysis of surveillance data to examine the epidemiological characteristics of this outbreak. Methods: The retrospective analysis covered cholera cases from October to December 2016, focusing on onset date, age, sex, rapid diagnostic test (RDT) results, and residence. Pearson’s chi-square/Fisher’s exact tests were used to find associations. Results: The outbreak comprised 731 cases, resulting in an overall attack rate of 67 per 100,000 population, with no reported fatalities. The epidemic curve exhibited multiple progressive peaks, indicative of a person-to-person transmission outbreak. The mean age of affected individuals was 23, and 40% of cases occurred in the 15 - 24 age group. There was no significant gender difference (p = 0.619). Cape Coast Metropolis accounted for nearly 90% of cases, while Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese (AAK) and Komenda-Edina-Eguafo Abirem(KEEA) contributed to the remaining 10%. RDT results were significantly associated with bacterial culture (p < 0.001), and sex was linked to final case classification (p = 0.004). Conclusion: The Cholera outbreak was attributed to poor sanitation, hygiene, and water/food quality. Future interventions should prioritize addressing environmental and behavioural factors to prevent similar outbreaks in the future

Simple reaction time: how it relates to body mass index (BMI), gender and handedness in Ghanaian students. J Med Sci, Volume 49, No. 1, 2017 January: 1-7 Corresponding author: [email protected] Simple reaction time: how it relates to body mass index (BMI), gender and handedness in Ghanaian students

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between gender, handedness and body mass index (BMI) with simple reaction time. The study was conducted amongst 501 (232 females and 269 males) untrained University of Cape Coast students, Ghana whose ages ranged from 17-29 years. In this study it was found that males had faster reaction times than females, likewise the mean reaction time of the left hand was also faster than that of the right hand. There was however no significant difference in the mean reaction time across BMI classes In conclusion, simple reaction time is influenced by gender and handedness but appears not to be influence by BM

The role of digital surveillance during outbreaks:the Ghana experience from COVID‑19 response

Over the years, Ghana has made notable strides in adopting digital approaches to address societal challenges and meet demands. While the health sector, particularly the disease surveillance structure, has embraced digitization to enhance case detection, reporting, analysis, and information dissemination, critical aspects remain to be addressed. Although the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) structure has experienced remarkable growth in digitization, certain areas require further attention as was observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ghana duringthe COVID-19 pandemic, recognized the importance of leveraging digital technologies to bolster the public health response. To this end, Ghana implemented various digitalsurveillance tools to combat the pandemic. These included the ‘Surveillance Outbreak Response Management and Analysis System (SORMAS)’, the digitalized health declaration form, ArcGIS Survey123, Talkwalker, ‘Lightwave Health information Management System’ (LHIMS), and the ‘District Health Information Management System (DHIMS)’. These digital systems significantly contributed to the country's success in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. One key area where digital systems have proved invaluable is in the timely production of daily COVID-19 situational updates. This task would have been arduous and delayed if reliant solely on paper-based forms, which hinder efficient reporting to other levels within the health system. By adopting these digital systems, Ghana has been able to overcome such challenges and provide up-to-date information for making informed public health decisions.This paper attempts to provide an extensive description of the digital systems currently employed to enhance Ghana's paper-based disease surveillance system in the context of its response to COVID-19. The article explores the strengths andchallenges or limitations associated with these digital systems for responding to outbreaks, offering valuable lessons that can be learned from their implementation.<br/

Safety of intravitreal ziv-aflibercept in choroido-retinal vascular diseases: A randomised double-blind intervention study

AIM:To evaluate the safety of 1.25mg and 2mg intravitreal ziv-aflibercept (IVZ) in Ghanaian eyes with choroido-retinal vascular diseases. DESIGN:Prospective, randomised, double blind, interventional study. METHODS:Twenty patients with centre involving macular oedema in diabetic retinopathy, retinal vein occlusion, and neovascular age-related macular degeneration were assigned to 2 groups receiving 3 doses of 1.25mg/0.05ml (group 1) and 2mg/0.08ml IVZ (Group 2) at 4 weekly intervals. Safety data was collected after 30 minutes, 1 and 7 days, and 4, 8 and 12 weeks after injection. Changes in continuous variables were compared using paired t-test and categorical variables were compared using chi-square test of proportions. Repeated-Measures ANOVA with nesting test was used to compare variations in continuous variables by IVZ dose over time. Primary outcome measures were ocular and systemic adverse events at 4 weeks. RESULTS:Eleven females and nine males, with mean age of 63.2± 7.3 years were included. Ocular adverse events included subconjunctival haemorrhage in 1 eye, intraocular pressure (IOP) >21mmHg at 30 minutes in 6 eyes and mild pain in 3 eyes at 1-day. There was no significant difference in IOP rise between the 2 groups at 30 minutes (p = 0.21). No other ocular or systemic adverse events were observed. There was significant improvement in the best corrected visual acuity (LogMAR) from 0.95±0.6 to 0.6±0.4 (p<0.01) and 0.47±0.3 (p<0.01), reduction in central subfield foveal thickness from 405.9±140 um at baseline to 255.6±75 um (p<0.01) and 238±88 um (p<0.01) at 4 and 12 weeks respectively, although no difference was observed between the 2 groups (p = 0.34). CONCLUSION:IVZ at 1.25mg and 2mg had similar safety profiles, and did not have any major unexpected adverse events. Further studies with larger cohorts are required to confirm efficacy

The role of digital surveillance during outbreaks: the Ghana experience from COVID‑19 response

Over the years, Ghana has made notable strides in adopting digital approaches to address societal challenges and meet demands. While the health sector, particularly the disease surveillance structure, has embraced digitization to enhance case detection, reporting, analysis, and information dissemination, critical aspects remain to be addressed. Although the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) structure has experienced remarkable growth in digitization, certain areas require further attention as was observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ghana during the COVID-19 pandemic, recognized the importance of leveraging digital technologies to bolster the public health response. To this end, Ghana implemented various digital surveillance tools to combat the pandemic. These included the “Surveillance Outbreak Response Management and Analysis System (SORMAS)”, the digitalized health declaration form, ArcGIS Survey123, Talkwalker, “Lightwave Health information Management System” (LHIMS), and the “District Health Information Management System (DHIMS)”. These digital systems significantly contributed to the country's success in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. One key area where digital systems have proved invaluable is in the timely production of daily COVID-19 situational updates. This task would have been arduous and delayed if reliant solely on paper-based forms, which hinder efficient reporting to other levels within the health system. By adopting these digital systems, Ghana has been able to overcome such challenges and provide up-to-date information for making informed public health decisions. This paper attempts to provide an extensive description of the digital systems currently employed to enhance Ghana's paper-based disease surveillance system in the context of its response to COVID-19. The article explores the strengths and challenges or limitations associated with these digital systems for responding to outbreaks, offering valuable lessons that can be learned from their implementation

Circulating tumor DNA is readily detectable among Ghanaian breast cancer patients supporting non-invasive cancer genomic studies in Africa.

Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) sequencing studies could provide novel insights into the molecular pathology of cancer in sub-Saharan Africa. In 15 patient plasma samples collected at the time of diagnosis as part of the Ghana Breast Health Study and unselected for tumor grade and subtype, ctDNA was detected in a majority of patients based on whole- genome sequencing at high (30×) and low (0.1×) depths. Breast cancer driver copy number alterations were observed in the majority of patients

Etiology of sporadic endometrial cancer characterized by microsatellite instability

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