The product of all this work is the Standard Treatment Guideline and Essential Medicines List of Common Medical Conditions in the Kingdom of Swaziland. These systematically developed statements are designed to assist practitioners in making decision...s about appropriate treatment for specific clinical conditions. They are meant to reflect expert consensus based on a review of current and published scientific evidence of acceptable approaches to diagnosis, man-agement, or prevention of specific conditions.It is enlightening to note that section A of the document contains the STG, and effort has been made to have the conditions commonly encountered in Swaziland classified according to systems. Written in simple, clear language, each section consists of a short definition followed by common symptoms and signs of the disease or condition and then management (pharmacological and nonpharmacological)
more
South Africa has faced many challenges over the past two decades, accomplishing profound positive changes in the social structure and government of the nation. This has not yet fully translated into better health for the population, howeve...r, particularly the poorest segment. In fact, the population has lost ground since the 1990s in virtually all important health indicators, leaving South Africa with a high burden of infectious disease.
August 2011, Vol. 101, No. 8 SAMJ
more
This document provides an overview of sexual and reproductive health and rights issues that may be important for the human rights, health and well-...being of adolescents (aged 10–19 years) and the relevant World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on how to address them in an easilyaccessible, user-friendly format. The document serves as a gateway to the rich body of WHO guidelines, and as a handy resource to inform advocacy, policy and programme/project design and research. It aims to support the implementation of the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health 2016–2030 (1), and is aligned with the WHO Global Accelerated Action for the Health of Adolescents (AA-HA!) as well as the WHO Operational Framework on Sexual Health and Its Linkages to Reproductive Health (2,3).
more
Sepsis remains a leading cause of mortality and morbidity, especially during the first five days of life and in low and middle-income countries (LM...IC) [1]. Hospital infection also remains a major cause of mortality in children despite progress encountered in the last decades.
more
The Guidance on National Deployment and Vaccination Planning is intended to help countries develop their plan for COVID-19 vaccine introduction.
Background paper 10
The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response
May 2021
Globally, 311,000 women die of cervical cancer every year, 85 percent of them
in resource limited regions of the world. To address this grave threat to women,
the WHO made a call to action in 2018, resulting in accelerated plans to improve
cervical cancer control under the elimination threshold w...ith respect to cervical
cancer incidence. As part of WHO’s approach to cervical cancer control, availability of high quality,
affordable medical devices for HPV screening, and treatment of precancerous
lesions in low resource settings is indispensable.
more
Against this background of nearly 20 years of experience of research, development and
improvement in patient safety, the role of incident and adverse event reporting, as well as the
benefits that ...derive from it, is still a work in progress.This document has two main purposes:
• to provide an up-to-date perspective on patient safety incident reporting and
learning systems currently in place, including how to fill in existing gaps in these
systems;
• to provide practical guidance on the establishment and effective use of patient
safety incident reporting and learning systems.
more
Guide for clinical case management and infection prevention and control during ameasles outbreak. This guide has been developed to reduce the high morbidity ...x">and mortality seen in some of the current outbreaks of measles. This short guide outlines practical clinical care interventions and is derived from previously published WHO documents.
more
On February 29, 2020, the United States and the Taliban signed an agreement outlining a phased withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan in exchange for Taliban commitments not to allow attacks on the US or its allies from Afghan territory. The troop... withdrawal is expected to take place in parallel with negotiations between representatives from the Afghan government and other Afghan political groups and Taliban leaders aimed at achieving a political settlement after decades of armed conflict.
more
The purpose of this document is to provide relevant information and guidelines on
coronavirus outbreaks – and in particular the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 ...dbox">and the
diseases it produces, COVID-19 – for pharmacists and the pharmacy workforce, both in a
primary care context (i.e. community pharmacies and primary healthcare facilities) and in
hospital settings, as well as for pharmacists working as clinical biologists in medical
analysis laboratories, for example, as clinical biologists, and offer a set of references that
may be consulted for more informationstor
more
IAEA Safety Standards for protecting people and the environment
This report presents an analysis of antibacterial agents in preclinical (third annual review) and clinical (fifth annual review) development. The analysis covers traditional (direct-acting small molecules) ...>and non-traditional antibacterial agents in development worldwide. It evaluates to what extent the present pipeline addresses infections caused by WHO Priority Pathogens, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Clostridioides difficile. The report also provides an assessment of the traditional agents with respect to whether they meet a set of predefined criteria for innovation, namely absence of known cross-resistance, new target, mode of action and/or class. It also includes an overview of the agents that obtained authorization since 1 July 2017.
more
Buruli ulcer caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans is a neglected tropical disease characterized by extensive ulceration involving predominantly the upper and lower limbs of patients. The disease is common in rural tropical communities in West ...s="attribute-to-highlight medbox">and Central Africa, where access to proper health care is limited. Pathogenesis of the characteristic painless ulcers is linked to the elaboration by M. ulcerans of a lipid toxin called mycolactone that has potent cytopathic, immunosuppressive, and analgesic effects on a host of cells in cutaneous tissues. Mycolactone is known to profoundly inhibit secretion of a plethora of proteins that are essential for wound healing. Even though a combination antibacterial therapy of streptomycin and rifampicin for 8 weeks is effective for treatment, it relies on good and appropriate wound management to prevent secondary bacterial infections and improve healing. Evidence-based interventions for wound care in Buruli ulcer disease are often lacking and have relied on expert advice and recommendations. Surgical interventions are limited to debridement of necrotic tissue and grafting of extensive ulcers, usually after antibiotic therapy. Patients’ rehabilitation is an important component of care to reduce disabilities associated with the disease and proper integration into the community after treatment.
more
Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis) is caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, and transmitted to humans by infected triatomine bugs, and less commonly by transfusion, organ transp...lant, from mother to infant, and in rare instances, by ingestion of contaminated food or drink.1-4 The hematophagous triatomine vectors defecate during or immediately after feeding on a person. The parasite is present in large numbers in the feces of infected bugs, and enters the human body through the bite wound, or through the intact conjunctiva or other mucous membrane.
more
Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a well-known neglected parasitic disease. However, evidence supporting the four current treatment modalities is inadequate, and treatment options remain controversial. The aim of this work is to analyse the available da...ta to answer clinical questions regarding medical treatment of CE.
more
The cardiovascular disease continuum begins with risk factors such as diabetes mellitus (DM), progresses to vasculopathy and myocardial dysfunction, and finally ends with cardiovascular death. Diabe...tes is associated with a 2- to 4-fold increased risk for heart failure (HF). Moreover, HF patients with DM have a worse prognosis than those without DM. Diabetes can cause myocardial ischemia via micro- and macrovasculopathy and can directly exert deleterious effects on the myocardium. Hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, and insulin resistance can cause alterations in vascular homeostasis. Then, reduced nitric oxide and increased reactive oxygen species levels favor inflammation leading to atherothrombotic progression and myocardial dysfunction. The classification, diagnosis, and treatment of HF for a patient with and without DM remain the same. Until now, drugs targeting neurohumoral and metabolic pathways improved mortality and morbidity in HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Therefore, all HFrEF patients should receive guideline-directed medical therapy. By contrast, drugs modulating neurohumoral activity did not improve survival in HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) patients. Trials investigating whether sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors are effective in HFpEF are on-going. This review will summarize the epidemiology, pathophysiology, and treatment of HF in diabetes.
more
The document, "Progress on the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases," reports on global efforts to reduce the impact of NCDs, such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and chronic resp...iratory diseases, following the commitments made at high-level United Nations meetings. It highlights the inadequate progress in meeting the targets set under the Sustainable Development Goal 3.4 to reduce premature NCD mortality by one-third by 2030. Key challenges include insufficient funding, limited implementation of effective interventions, and political and economic barriers, especially in low-income countries. The report calls for strengthened international cooperation, policy reform, and innovative approaches to meet global health targets.
more
The reader acknowledges that this report is intended as an evidence-based asthma management strategy, for the use of health professionals and policy-makers. It is based, to the best of our knowledge, on current best evidence ...o-highlight medbox">and medical knowledge and practice at the date of publication. When assessing and treating patients, health professionals are strongly advised to use their own professional judgment, and to take into account local and national regulations and guidelines. GINA cannot be held liable or responsible for inappropriate healthcare associated with the use of this document, including any use which is not in accordance with applicable local or national regulations or guidelines.
more