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Biomedical subjects

N M Davidson

Publications and source records attributed to N M Davidson.

48 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1975

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↗
PubMed1974

Immunodiagnosis of snake bite.

Management of a patient with snake bite is influenced by the nature of the offending snake. Species diagnosis based on the patient's history and physical signs is often unreliable and the possibility of making a species diagnosis by immunological means has therefore been investigated. Wound aspirates, blister fluids, sera, and urine samples from patients with snake bite were examined for the presence of species-specific venoms using immunodiffusion. A positive species diagnosis was made in 40 out of 101 patients. Immunodiagnosis was especially successful in patients bitten by the puff adder, Bitis arietans, and the African spitting cobra, Naja nigricollis. A higher success rate could probably be achieved using more specific antisera and more sensitive assay techniques.

Animals↗
PubMed1974

Bites by the saw-scaled or carpet viper (Echis carinatus): trial of two specific antivenoms.

Echis carinatus is the most important cause of morbidity and mortality from snake bite in Nigeria and in many other parts of the world. Forty-six patients with systemic poisoning by this snake were given echis antivenom made either by the South African Institute for Medical Research (S.A.I.M.R.) or by Behringwerke (North and West African polyvalent antivenom). A simple test of blood coagulability was used to assess whether an adequate neutralizing dose of antivenom had been given. An average of 15.2 ml S.A.I.M.R. antivenom restored normal coagulability permanently in all 23 patients in one group, but in the other group receiving an average dose of 37.9 ml Behringwerke antivenom normal clotting resulted in only 18 out of 23 patients. Local tissue swelling was similar in both groups, but local necrosis occurred in three patients treated with Behringwerke antivenom and in none given S.A.I.M.R. antivenom.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1974

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↗
PubMed1973

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↗
PubMed1973

Cholerrhoea.

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Cholera↗