3 research outputs found
Pattern and Outcome of Chest Injuries at Bugando Medical Centre in Northwestern Tanzania.
Chest injuries constitute a continuing challenge to the trauma or general surgeon practicing in developing countries. This study was conducted to outline the etiological spectrum, injury patterns and short term outcome of these injuries in our setting. This was a prospective study involving chest injury patients admitted to Bugando Medical Centre over a six-month period from November 2009 to April 2010 inclusive. A total of 150 chest injury patients were studied. Males outnumbered females by a ratio of 3.8:1. Their ages ranged from 1 to 80 years (mean = 32.17 years). The majority of patients (72.7%) sustained blunt injuries. Road traffic crush was the most common cause of injuries affecting 50.7% of patients. Chest wall wounds, hemothorax and rib fractures were the most common type of injuries accounting for 30.0%, 21.3% and 20.7% respectively. Associated injuries were noted in 56.0% of patients and head/neck (33.3%) and musculoskeletal regions (26.7%) were commonly affected. The majority of patients (55.3%) were treated successfully with non-operative approach. Underwater seal drainage was performed in 39 patients (19.3%). One patient (0.7%) underwent thoracotomy due to hemopericardium. Thirty nine patients (26.0%) had complications of which wound sepsis (14.7%) and complications of long bone fractures (12.0%) were the most common complications. The mean LOS was 13.17 days and mortality rate was 3.3%. Using multivariate logistic regression analysis, associated injuries, the type of injury, trauma scores (ISS, RTS and PTS) were found to be significant predictors of the LOS (P < 0.001), whereas mortality was significantly associated with pre-morbid illness, associated injuries, trauma scores (ISS, RTS and PTS), the need for ICU admission and the presence of complications (P < 0.001). Chest injuries resulting from RTCs remain a major public health problem in this part of Tanzania. Urgent preventive measures targeting at reducing the occurrence of RTCs is necessary to reduce the incidence of chest injuries in this region
Triple assessment as a preoperative diagnostic tool for breast cancer at Bugando Medical Centre in northwestern Tanzania
The triple assessment in the pre-operative evaluation of breast cancer
has been practiced in some hospitals in Tanzania. However, its validity
and reliability has not been evaluated in any hospital in the country
including the study area. This cross-sectional study was conducted at
Bugando Medical Centre in northwestern Tanzania to determine the
validity, reliability and applicability of triple assessment as an
alternative to conventional open biopsy in the pre-operative diagnosis
of breast cancer. A total of 212 female patients aged 35 years and
above were studied. All patients underwent clinical evaluation,
mammography and fine needle aspiration cytology. Histopathology was
done to confirm the diagnosis. One hundred and twenty (56.6 %) patients
with a median age of 36 years had benign lesions and the remaining
ninety-two (43.4%) with a median age of 47 years had breast cancer (P =
0.002). With triple assessment, 92 patients were diagnostic for
malignancy and 120 benign, respectively confirmed by histopathology.
The Sensitivity, Specificity, Positive Predictive Value, Negative
Predictive Value and Accuracy were 100.0%. There were no false positive
or false negative results. The Kappa statistic for the combination was
1.0 implying excellent agreement with histopathology. The majority of
patients (59.9%) underwent triple assessment on the same day with
results being available to the patient within 24 to 72 hours. The
triple assessment is an accurate and quick method for the evaluation of
breast cancer and can be applied as a safe alternative for open biopsy
when it is concordant