Impact of anticancer therapy on the quality of life of Sudanese patients with breast cancer at Khartoum oncology hospital.

BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy-related toxicity affects the quality of life (QOL) of patients with cancer. Measuring the QOL in breast cancer (BC) patients has been the focus of clinical practices and research in recent decades. This study aimed to assess the impact of BC medications on QOL of Sudanese patients with BC. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Khartoum Oncology Hospital, Sudan, from November 2020 to March 2021. All patients diagnosed with BC were included in the study. QOL was assessed using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer quality of life (EORTC QLQ-C-30) and breast cancer supplementary module (QLQ-BR23). ANOVA, independent t-test and logistic regression analysis were used to assess the association between variables. RESULTS: Two hundred patients were enrolled in the study, with a mean age of 50 ± 11.7 years. 52.5% of the patients were on a conventional therapy whereas 40.5% and 7% received hormonal and HER2-targeted therapies, respectively. In QLQ-C30 scale, the global health-QOL status score was (53.2 ± 1.9), with 54.0% of patients having poor global health-QOL status. In the functional scale, the cognitive functioning was the highest score (80.7 ± 1.8). In QLQ-C30 symptom scale, the most distressing issue was financial difficulties (63.7 ± 2.9). In QLQ-BR23 scale, body image scored the worse functioning (47.7 ± 2.7), with 54.5% of patients having poor QOL. In QLQ-BR23 symptoms scale, "being upset by hair loss" was the highest disturbing symptom (62.1 ± 3.3), with 68.6% of patients having poor QOL. Global health status (P = 0.000), social (P = 0.000), emotional (P = 0.002) and role functioning (P = 0.000) were significantly higher in patients taking HER2-targeted or hormonal therapy compared to conventional therapy. The level of symptomatology was significantly low in patients taking HER2-targeted therapy or hormonal therapy (P = 0.000) than those on conventional therapy. Hormonal (OR = 3.7, p = 0.01) and HER2-targeted therapies (OR = 10.2, p = 0.04 ) were positive predictors of QOL. CONCLUSION: BC survivors in Sudan had a low QOL/global health status. Hormonal and HER2-targeted therapies were predictors of good QOL.

Drug use evaluation of cefepime at Khartoum North Teaching Hospital in Sudan.

BACKGROUND: Cefepime is essentially used for life-threatening infections. Although overutilisation of antibiotics is strongly discouraged around the world, they are still overused in developing countries including Sudan. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to evaluate the rational use of cefepime at Khartoum North Teaching Hospital-Sudan. METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional, hospital-based study was conducted in the internal medicine ward at Khartoum North Teaching Hospital from August/2018 to April/2019. The study covered medical records of adult patients receiving cefepime during the study period. Patient's data were analysed using simple descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage) and inferential statistics (logistic regression) to describe the relationship between dependent and independent variables. P ≤ .05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Out of 90 patients, only 16.7% of patients were tested for antibiotic sensitivity. Cefepime was prescribed to 50% and 23.3% of patients for the treatment of UTIs/post-dialysis and sepsis, respectively. Although the majority of patients (72.2%) received cefepime with appropriate indication, only 21.1% and 15.6% received the drug with appropriate dose and duration, respectively. Cefepime had been prescribed appropriately in a correct dose, duration, and indications for only 7.8% of patients. The vast majority of patients tested for kidney functions had elevated creatinine levels (96.1%); however, cefepime dose had been adjusted for only 4.1% of them. CONCLUSION: This study highlighted the irrational use of cefepime regarding inappropriate dose, duration, and inadequate antibiotic sensitivity tests. A lack of attention to dosage adjustment in patients with renal impairment had been observed. Positive clinical outcome was significantly associated with antibiotic sensitivity test.

Mycetoma management and clinical outcomes: the Mycetoma Research Center experience.

BACKGROUND: Mycetoma is a chronic granulomatous inflammatory disease that affects the cutaneous and subcutaneous tissues, leading to gruesome complications if not treated early. As a neglected disease, it has received scant attention in developing curable drugs. Mycetoma treatment is still based on expert opinions in the absence of guidelines. METHODS: This descriptive, cross-sectional, hospital-based study aimed to determine and assess the disease treatment outcomes observed at Mycetoma Research Center, Sudan. RESULTS: In this study, 75% of patients had eumycetoma, all of whom were treated with itraconazole and 37.4% underwent surgical excision, while 25% of the patients had actinomycetoma, 99.2% of whom were treated with a combination of cotrimoxazole and amoxicillin-clavulanate. The cure rate was 12.7% and 14.3% for patients with eumycetoma and actinomycetoma, respectively. Only 6.1% of eumycetoma patients underwent amputation. Remarkably, no patient with actinomycetoma underwent an amputation. Small lesions (OR=10.09, p<0.001) and good follow-up (OR=6.81, p=0.002) were positive predictors of complete cure. In terms of amputation, history of surgical recurrence at presentation (OR=3.67, p=0.020) and presence of grains (OR=7.13, p=0.012) were positive predictors, whereas small lesions were negative predictors (OR=0.06, p=0.009). CONCLUSIONS: Treatment of mycetoma was suboptimal, with a low cure rate despite a long treatment duration. Complete cure has a significant association with small lesions and good follow-up.

Therapeutic outcomes evaluation of adjuvant hyperbaric oxygen therapy for non-healing diabetic foot ulcers among sudanese patients.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are common complications of diabetes that frequently lead to amputation and disability. Despite some promising results in using hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) for DFUs treatment, its efficacy is still debatable. The aim of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic outcomes of adjuvant HBOT in non-healing DFUs treatment. METHODS: A descriptive, retrospective, hospital-based study was conducted at Al-Mo'alem Medical City-Khartoum, Sudan from August to December 2018. Medical records of Type 2 diabetic patients, treated with HBOT plus standard wound care for DFUs, were included in the study. Data were analyzed by simple descriptive statistics and logistic regression. P ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The study results showed that 51.7% of patients had Wagner grade-3 ulcers and 28.3% had complete loss of protective sensation. Almost 61% of patients achieved complete ulcer healing while 16.7% underwent amputation. Twenty percent of patients treated with HBOT experienced ear barotraumas as adverse effects. Protective sensation (OR = 6.00, 95% CI = 1.79-20.16, p = 0.004) and more sessions of HBOT (OR = 17.35, 95% CI = 4.51-66.73, p = 0.000) were positive predictors of complete ulcer healing. Loss of protective sensation (OR = 0.17, 95% CI = 0.05-0.63, p = 0.007) was an indicator of amputation. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with adjuvant HBOT enhanced ulcer healing and reduced amputation rate in patients with non-healing DFUs. HBOT could be considered a relatively safe intervention.