BackgroundMalnutrition is a clinical condition of multifactorial etiologies and it is associated with several adverse outcomes. In high-income countries, malnutrition has been described as a determinant of delayed wound healing, surgical site infections and mortality in the postoperative period. There is limited information available regarding the outcome of surgery in malnourished patients in sub-Saharan Africa.MethodsA cross-sectional analytic study was carried out between March and August 2014 in the visceral surgery and the emergency departments of the Yaounde Central Hospital in Cameroon. All consecutive consenting preoperative and postoperative patients of abdominal surgical procedures were enrolled. Variables studied were: socio-demographic characteristics, medical and surgical past histories, nutritional survey, anthropometric parameters and serum albumin level in order to determine the nutritional risk index (or Buzby score).ResultsA total of 85 patients aged from 19 to 50 years with mean age of 34.4 ± 8 years were included. The most performed abdominal surgical procedure was appendectomy (30.6%). The prevalence of preoperative malnutrition according to the Buzby score was 39.1%. Mean postoperative weight lost was 2.9 ± 1.2 kg and mean decrease in postoperative serum albumin was 4.2 ± 0.2 g. A normal postoperative serum albumin was associated with a favorable outcome [OR (95% CI) = 55 (13.4–224.3), p < 0.001].ConclusionsThe prevalence of malnutrition is high in our visceral surgery and emergency departments; this is associated with an increased risk of adverse early postoperative outcomes. Overall, our results emphasize the need of optimizing perioperative care through routine nutritional assessment and management of surgical patients in Cameroon.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13104-017-2765-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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ICS are frequent but preventable (early treatment of the primary infection) pathologies of childhood in developing countries. Burr hole drainage (empyemas) and puncture-aspiration (abscesses) are simple, safe, and effective techniques.

Introduction: Our objective was to compare the epidemiologic profile of maternal mortality in two structures serving as referral levels of care in Cameroon. Methodology: This cross-sectional, comparative study took place at the maternities of the Yaoundé Central Hospital (YCH) and the Bamenda Regional Hospital (BRH) from December 1st 2014 to May 31st 2015, a 6 months' period. The medical records of deceased women over 5 years, from January 2010 to December 2014, were collected. We calculated the MMR (Maternal mortality rate) and studied the causes and risk factors associated with maternal death. The Epi info software 3.5.4 was used to analyze data with a significance level of P < 0.05. Results: The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) was 964 and 247 per 100,000 live births for YCH and BRH, respectively. More deaths occurred within the aged group range 20 to 34 years, 76.8% at YCH and 64.7% at BRH. At YCH, 70.7% of these patients were referrals versus 32.4% at BRH. Complication from abortion was often implicated at BRH (P = 0.007; OR = 0.31; CI = 0.13-0.74). Others causes were hemorrhage (YCH = 43.4%; BRH = 35.5%), hypertensive diseases (YCH = 17.2%; BRH = 14.7%) and infections (YCH = 8.1%; BRH = 17.6%). At YCH time elapsed from admission to death was <3 h (P = 0.005; OR = 6.63; CI = 1.49-29.5). Conclusion: Both hospitals have similar causes of maternal deaths, differing only in the context within which * Corresponding author. P. N. Nana et al. 366 the deaths occurred. Improving access to good quality health care, satisfying unmet needs for family planning, availability of blood products and the establishment of health insurance could decrease the maternal mortality rate.

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