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W Naamara

Publications and source records attributed to W Naamara.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Bed occupancy due to HIV/AIDS in an urban hospital medical ward in Uganda.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the proportion of patients with HIV-related illness admitted to a medical ward. DESIGN: A prospective study. SETTING: Rubaga Hospital, the third largest hospital in Kampala, the capital of Uganda. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 449 patients admitted to the medical ward between September and November 1992. RESULTS: Of the 449 patients, 390 (86.8%) agreed to provide a blood sample for HIV serology. Of these, 55.6% (95% confidence interval, 50.7-60.5%) were positive for HIV. Eighty-six (22.2%) of all patients [71 (33%) of the seropositives and six (3.5%) of the seronegatives] met the World Health Organization case definition for AIDS in Africa. The HIV-seropositives had a mortality rate of 17.4%, significantly higher (P = 0.00057) than the 5.8% rate observed in the seronegative group. The overall mortality rate was 13.7% and was significantly associated with HIV infection (P = 0.0005). CONCLUSION: HIV infection is a major contributor to morbidity and mortality in Uganda. Over 50% of the medical admissions were HIV-positive revealing the serious impact of HIV on the health-care system.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Tuberculosis and HIV infection association in a rural district of northern Uganda: epidemiological and clinical considerations.

59 (18.3%) of 323 patients with tuberculosis (TB) tested for HIV-1 antibody by ELISA technique (Wellcozyme) were seropositive. In the control group selected among the health personnel working in the Arua Hospital, 7.7% were found positive for HIV-1 antibody, thus showing a significantly lower prevalence compared with the TB patients (P < 0.005). The prevalence of HIV infection was 50% in the urban TB patients, 7% in TB patients living in rural areas surrounding Arua town and 1.6% in the peripheral rural setting. Of 27 TB patients with clinical AIDS, 18 died during the course of the study. The AIDS patients' survival rate was 46.4% 6 months after diagnosis, and 21.4% after 16 months, the median period of survival being 5.0 months. Risk factors, sputum conversion rate, clinical and radiological findings were analysed. No significant difference was found between seropositive and seronegative TB patients for clinical drug-related toxicity (P > 0.05).

Adolescent↗

AIDS and HIV infection in Uganda--are more women infected than men?

In countries in sub-Saharan Africa, HIV is transmitted primarily heterosexually. HIV infection and AIDS in women not only affects women's health but also has implications for the other members of society. Maternal infection is the source of most childhood HIV infection in Africa and maternal health is a strong predictor of child survival. In Uganda, a review of passive AIDS surveillance has shown almost equal numbers of clinical cases reported in men and women. However, in three population-based HIV serosurveys, women were consistently found to have a higher infection rate (approximately 1.4 times) than men. In addition, both AIDS case surveillance and seroprevalence studies demonstrate an earlier age of presentation and mean age of infection in women. The higher rate of HIV infection in women suggests either differential rates of transmission between women and men, higher rates of female sexual exposure to infected men, or longer survival among HIV-infected women compared with men. Although further studies are required to illuminate both the biology and the epidemiology of heterosexual HIV transmission in Africa, these findings of earlier and higher infection rates in women have important implications for women's health and child survival in Uganda and indicate the need for specially targeted interventions to reduce transmission in this group.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Surveillance for AIDS in Uganda.

In the developed world, surveillance for AIDS has provided up-to-date information for researchers, clinicians, public health workers and policy makers. In Africa, however, there is no standardized format or methodology for AIDS surveillance. In August 1987, Uganda developed a clinical case definition for AIDS reporting, based upon the World Health Organization (WHO) clinical case definition for AIDS in Africa and began formal surveillance. Surveillance is passive and primarily hospital-based. At the end of July 1988, 5142 cases of AIDS had been reported to the Ministry of Health; 4583 (89%) had confirmatory HIV-antibody testing. Of the 4938 (96%) cases that had their sex recorded, 2358 (48%) were male and 2580 (52%) were female. The mean age of 28.4 years for male patients is higher than that of 24.4 years for female patients (P less than 0.0001). Only 18 (less than 1%) cases have been reported in children between 5 and 12 years of age. Case reports are returned via the District Medical Officers to the Ministry of Health where they are entered into a microcomputer from which a monthly report is generated for feedback to the reporting stations. Here we describe a simple national reporting system to follow the progression of the AIDS epidemic which could be established in Africa using limited resources.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Treating chancroid with enoxacin.

Increasing resistance of Haemophilus ducreyi to antimicrobials necessitates further trials of new antimicrobial agents for treating chancroid. Enoxacin has excellent in vitro activity against H ducreyi, and a randomised clinical trial of three doses of enoxacin 400 mg at intervals of 12 hours compared with a single dose of trimethoprim/sulphametrole (TMP/SMT) 640/3200 mg was therefore conducted. Of 169 men enrolled in the study, 86 received enoxacin and 83 received TMP/SMT. Ulcers were improved or cured in 65/73 men treated with enoxacin and 57/70 men treated with TMP/SMT. This difference was not significant. At 72 hours after treatment, H ducreyi was eradicated from ulcers of 72/77 men treated with enoxacin and of 67/74 of those treated with TMP/SMT. Patients with buboes responded equally well to both treatments. Of 100 H ducreyi strains tested, all were susceptible to both 0.25 mg/l enoxacin and the combination of 0.25 mg/l TMP and 5 mg/l SMT. Although most men treated with either regimen were cured, neither regimen appeared to be the optimum treatment for chancroid. This study shows the efficacy of enoxacin for a soft tissue infection caused by Gram negative organisms.

Adolescent↗

Treatment of chancroid with ciprofloxacin. A prospective, randomized clinical trial.

Chancroid is a major sexually transmitted disease in many developing countries. Although single-dose and short-course treatment of chancroid have been described, the increasing resistance of Hemophilus ducreyi to antimicrobial agents requires continuing evaluation of new therapies. Ciprofloxacin is a new quinolone antimicrobial agent with excellent in vitro efficacy against H. ducreyi. A double-blind, randomized clinical trial was conducted comparing a single-dose ciprofloxacin regimen (500 mg) and a three-day regimen of ciprofloxacin (500 mg twice daily) with a three-day regimen of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (160 and 800 mg, respectively, twice daily) for the treatment of chancroid. The three-day ciprofloxacin regimen successfully eradicated H. ducreyi, and resulted in rapid clinical improvement in all 40 patients followed, with no failures. The other two regimens were also effective, but bacteriologic and clinical failure occurred in two and three patients following treatment with single-dose ciprofloxacin and three days of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, respectively. All patients with buboes had resolution of lesions. There were no significant adverse effects associated with ciprofloxacin or trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. All three regimens are effective therapy for chancroid and H. ducreyi infections. If resistance to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole becomes widespread, ciprofloxacin may become a first-line therapy for chancroid. This study also demonstrates the efficacy of ciprofloxacin in soft tissue infection.

Adolescent↗

Single-dose therapy of gonococcal ophthalmia neonatorum with ceftriaxone.

We conducted a randomized clinical trial comparing a single intramuscular dose of 125 mg of ceftriaxone with a single intramuscular dose of 75 mg of kanamycin followed by topical gentamicin for seven days, and with a single intramuscular dose of 75 mg of kanamycin followed by topical tetracycline for seven days, in the treatment of gonococcal ophthalmia neonatorum in Nairobi, Kenya. Of 122 newborns with culture-proved gonococcal ophthalmia neonatorum, 105 returned for follow-up. Sixty-one infants (54 percent) received ceftriaxone, 32 received kanamycin plus topical gentamicin, and 29 received kanamycin plus topical tetracycline. Sixty-six (54 percent) of the Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates were penicillinase producing. All 55 newborns who received ceftriaxone and returned for follow-up were clinically and microbiologically cured. One of 26 returning newborns who received kanamycin plus tetracycline and 2 of 24 returning newborns who received kanamycin plus gentamicin had persistent or recurrent gonococcal conjunctivitis. Ceftriaxone also eradicated oropharyngeal gonococcal infection in 18 newborns, whereas oropharyngeal infection persisted in 2 of 8 newborns who had received kanamycin (P not significant). We conclude that 125 mg of ceftriaxone as a single intramuscular dose is very effective therapy for gonococcal ophthalmia neonatorum, with marked efficacy against extraocular infection and without the need for concomitant topical antimicrobial therapy.

Ceftriaxone↗