Anthropometric measurements of children attending a vaccination clinic in Yaounde, Cameroon

Background

Growth faltering is a frequent public health problem in children and anthropometric measurements are useful tools for follow-up and early diagnosis. This problem has not been studied in the Cameroonian setting, that''s why we undertook this study.

Objectives

To have a synopsis of the nutritional status in apparently healthy children attending a vaccination clinic and show the importance of anthropometric measurements in routine child health care.

Design

A retrospective study.

Patients and Participants

1351 children aged (6–24months), who attended the vaccination clinic of the Yaounde Gynaeco-Obstetric and Pediatric Hospital over a 6 month period, were enrolled in the study.

Method

The registers of the vaccination clinic of the above hospital were retrospectively reviewed from 1^st March to 31^st August 2005. The following parameters were noted: age, height, weight, mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), and Z scores calculated for the following indicators: weight for age (WAZ), weight for height (WHZ), and height for age (HAZ).

Results

Our results show that 12 children (1.1percent) in the 0–6 months age group and 4 (1.6 percent) in the 6–12 months age group had WAZ less than -2 indicating underweight. Also 10 children (0.9 percent) and 2 (0.8 percent) in the 0–6 and 6–12 months age groups respectively had WHZ less than −2, indicating wasting. HAZ was less than −2 in 70 children (6.4 percent) and in 8 (3.2 percent) in the 0–6 and 6–12 months age groups respectively indicating stunting. The MUAC was less than 12.5 cm in 6 children (2.4 percent).

Conclusions

From our results, we conclude that growth faltering is common in supposedly healthy children attending our vaccination clinic. Anthropometric measurements are thus recommended and should be encouraged in routine child care settings for early diagnosis of growth retardation and to provide useful interventions.     

Current thinking on chronic renal allograft rejection: issues, concerns, and recommendations from a 1997 roundtable discussion

Chronic rejection accounts for most renal allograft losses after the first year posttransplantation. On March 24 and 25, 1997, a roundtable of five transplant surgeons, two nephrologists, and one pathologist assembled in Dallas, Texas, to review critical issues surrounding chronic renal allograft rejection. This article summarizes the presentations and relevant discussions of this meeting regarding the cause of chronic rejection, clinical diagnoses, risk factors, future prospects for intervention strategies, and general recommendations for the transplant community. Growing evidence indicates that chronic rejection is the aggregate sum of irreversible immunologic and nonimmunologic injuries to the renal graft over time. A history of acute rejection episodes and inadequate immunosuppression, likely attributable to inconsistent cyclosporine exposure or poor patient compliance, are among the most recognizable immunologic risk factors for chronic rejection. Donor organ quality, delayed graft function, and other donor and recipient variables leading to reduced nephron mass are nonimmunologic factors that contribute to the progressive deterioration of renal graft function. Clinical management of renal transplant recipients should incorporate both immunologic- and nonimmunologic-based intervention strategies aimed at minimizing risk factors to thwart the progression of chronic rejection and improve long-term allograft and patient survival.     

Free radical spin traps as adjuncts for the prevention and treatment of disease.

Free radical spin traps exhibit properties consistent with a role in the prevention or amelioration of diseases mediated by the formation of free radical species in excess of optimum constitutive requirements. At first view, it may be surprising that they have not found a place in clinical medicine. Some studies of diseases in which free radicals and oxidative stress are aberrantly over- or underabundant and which might be ameliorated by inhibiting or augmenting their formation have been reported. A number of pathophysiologic categories in which such agents have been or might be employed are briefly summarized.     

Accuracy of Self-reported Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Status Among Gay and Bisexual Adolescent Males: Cross-sectional Study

BackgroundMen who have sex with men are a risk group for anal human papillomavirus (HPV) and anal cancer. Australia introduced a universal school-based HPV vaccination program in 2013. Self-reported HPV vaccination status has been widely used in clinical and research settings, but its accuracy is understudied.ObjectiveWe aimed to examine the accuracy of self-reported HPV vaccination status among gay and bisexual adolescent males.MethodsWe included 192 gay and bisexual males aged 16-20 years from the Human Papillomavirus in Young People Epidemiological Research 2 (HYPER2) study in Melbourne, Australia. All participants had been eligible for the universal school-based HPV vaccination program implemented in 2013 and were asked to self-report their HPV vaccination status. Written informed consent was obtained to verify their HPV vaccination status using records at the National HPV Vaccination Program Register and the Australian Immunisation Register. We calculated the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of self-reported HPV vaccination status.ResultsThe median age of the 192 males was 19 (IQR 18-20) years. There were 128 males (67%) who had HPV vaccination records documented on either registry. Self-reported HPV vaccination had a sensitivity of 47.7% (95% CI 38.8%-56.7%; 61/128), a specificity of 85.9% (95% CI 75.0%-93.4%; 55/64), a positive predictive value of 87.1% (95% CI 77.0%-93.9%; 61/70), and a negative predictive value of 45.1% (95% CI 36.1%-54.3%; 55/122).ConclusionsSelf-reported HPV vaccination status among Australian gay and bisexual adolescent males underestimates actual vaccination and may be inaccurate for clinical and research purposes.