Echocardiographic reference ranges in older children and adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa

Echocardiographic reference ranges in older children and adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa

BACKGROUND Echocardiographic reference ranges are important to identify abnormalities of cardiac dimensions. Reference ranges for children in sub-Saharan Africa have not been established. The aim of this study was to establish echocardiographic z-score references for Black children in sub-Saharan Africa. METHODS 282 healthy subjects aged 6-16years (143 [51%] males) with no known history of ca...

Older people's health in sub-Saharan Africa.

Verification of chemistry reference ranges using a simple method in sub-Saharan Africa

BACKGROUND Chemistry safety assessments are interpreted by using chemistry reference ranges (CRRs). Verification of CRRs is time consuming and often requires a statistical background. OBJECTIVES We report on an easy and cost-saving method to verify CRRs. METHODS Using a former method introduced by Sigma Diagnostics, three study sites in sub-Saharan Africa, Bondo, Kenya, and Pretoria and Blo...

A New Generation of Physicians in Sub-Saharan Africa?; Comment on “Non-physician Clinicians in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Evolving Role of Physicians”

This commentary follows up on an editorial by Eyal and colleagues in which these authors discuss the implications of the emergence of non-physician clinicians (NPCs) on the health labour market for the education of medical doctors. We generally agree with those authors and we want to stress the importance of clarifying the terminology to describe these practitioners and of defining more formall...

Non-physician Clinicians – A Gain for Physicians’ Working in Sub-Saharan Africa; Comment on “Non-physician Clinicians in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Evolving Role of Physicians”

The changing demands on the health sectors in low- and middle-income countries especially sub-Saharan African countries continue to challenge efforts to address critical shortages of the health workforce. Addressing these challenges have led to the evolution of “non-physician clinicians” (NPCs), that assume some physician roles and thus mitigate the continuing shortage of doctors in these count...