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Biomedical subjects

E H Parry

Publications and source records attributed to E H Parry.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Experience with multiple choice question papers in Nigeria. A practical guide to their use in a new medical school.

The application of MCQ examination techniques, in the context of a new medical school in tropical Africa, is described. The pitfalls are noted, the composition of papers discussed, and a simple method of marking is described. Some examples of questions are given, and their individual values are simply assessed. From our experience, there is no doubt that objective testing has a real place in a young medical school, where it can actually save time, as well as reducing variation in standards of examination.

Diagnosis↗

Defaulters from follow-up after pre-partum cardiac failure.

The problem of default from follow-up prejudices the study of disease in Africa. During studies of 224 patients with pre-partum cardiac failure were found that 119 had defaulted from follow-up for six months or more, after an average period of 22 months from their admission. A sociologist tried to find all these patients at home and interviewed those who were found. If the patient was not found, information was sought from the village head and from friends and relatives. Thirteen patients had died. The 69 who were traced gave a total of 101 reasons for default. Domestic reasons prodominated, of which poverty, moving home and the difficulties of travel were the most important. Among personal reasons, feeling well was the commonest single reason, and was given by 19 patients. The results show that the problems of a subsistence agricultural economy dominate the reasons for default, and that such problem cannot be overcome without changes in society. Our findings are relevant in the care of all chronic diseases and throughout rural Africa.

Adolescent↗

Perpartum cardiac failure. An explanation for the observed geographic distribution in Nigeria.

Peripartum cardiac failure (PPCF) is common in Zaria, in northern Nigeria, but has not been described elsewhere in Nigeria except in Ibadan. The geographic origin of a series of 224 patients with PPCF was studied in Zaria, and a survey of the syndrome as seen in hospitals and by physicians in the northern states of Nigeria was carried out; information was also gathered from medical and nursing students from various tribal groups in the same area. It was found that PPCF is only common in the areas of Hausa majority, mostly around Zaria and Malumfashi, where the postpartum practices of taking hot baths, lying on a hot bed, and taking large amounts of kanwa (a lake-salt rich in sodium) are pursued with great vigour. These customs may impose a critical load on a vulnerable myocardium, and it seems that tribe and tradition could well explain the high incidence of PPCF around Zaria.

Female↗

Trial of chloramphenicol for meningitis in northern savanna of Africa.

In a controlled trial chloramphenicol proved as effective and much cheaper than penicillin for the treatment of group A meningococcal meningitis in Zaria, Nigeria. A short course of five days cured most patients. Adults and older children were soon able to take chloramphenicol by mouth, which reduced the cost and simplified treatment.It is suggested that chloramphenicol is a suitable alternative to sulphonamides for the treatment of meningococcal meningitis in those parts of Africa where the organism is sulphonamide-resistant.

Administration, Oral↗

Allertic complications of meningococcal disease. I. Clinical aspects.

Out of 717 patients with meningococcal disease 53 showed one or more of the three allergic complications: 47 (6.6%) developed arthritis, 12 (1.7%) developed cutaneous vasculitis, and 6 developed episcleritis. These complications, which were often multiple, occurred six to nine days after the beginning of the illness and three to six days after the start of successful antibiotic therapy. Those patients with severe systemic disease were prone to the complications.Histological and bacteriological study of the arthritis and vasculitis showed that these lesions were probably not due to persisting infection and suggested that they might be due to immune complex disease.

Adolescent↗