[Evaluation of midwives' practices for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B in Abidjan (Ivory Coast)]. / Évaluation de la pratique des sages-femmes sur la prévention de la transmission mère-enfant du virus de l'hépatite B à Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire).

UNLABELLED: Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV) assumes and requires good practices by midwives. The objective of this study was to evaluate their practices for this prevention. METHODOLOGY: This prospective, descriptive study in Abidjan took place from January 2 to May 31, 2014 and included the midwives in Abidjan (recruited from university hospitals, general hospitals, and peripheral health care facilities) at the time of the survey who agreed to complete this written survey. Univariate analyses were done with Pearson Chi 2 tests or Fisher's test, as appropriate, P<0.05 was defined as significant. RESULTS: The study included 197 of the 220 midwives approached (89.5%), 88 (44.6%) of whom worked in the university hospital delivery rooms. Overall, 59% performed HBsAg tests during the second trimester, and 47.72% vaccinated newborns of HBsAg-positive mothers at birth. Hospital-based midwives had the best prevention practices, including HBsAg testing (P = 0.023) and immunization of the newborn at birth (P = 0.005). CONCLUSION: Midwives' practices for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HBV in Abidjan are improving.

[Spontaneous ascitic infection in cirrhotic Africans. Descriptive study apropos of 12 cases]. / L'infection spontanée du liquide d'ascite chez le cirrhotique africain. Etude descriptive à propos de 12 cas.

BACKGROUND: Spontaneous ascitic infection (SAI) is a frequent and serious complication of cirrhosis. OBJECTIVE: In a retrospective study, the authors report clinical and biological data associated with SAI for cirrhotic patients in an African medical centre. METHODS: Twenty-two cirrhotic patients with ascites were included in a one-year study (November 1996 to October 1997). Clinical and biological data were obtained through medical files. FINDINGS: The mean age of the 22 cirrhotic patients with ascites (12 men, 10 women) was 48.9 years. Twelve cases of SAI were found. In a univariate analysis, the more frequent data in patients with SAI when compared to patients without SAI were: fever or hypothermia (91.7% versus 10%, p = 0.002), abdominal pain (83.3% versus 40%, p = 0.046), cloudy ascitic fluid (66.7% versus 10%, p = 0.003), medium albuminemia (18.2 g/l versus 23 g/l, p = 0.02), medium prothrombin rate (42.8% versus 58.3%; p = 0.04) and ascitic fluid protein level < or = 10 g/l (91.7% versus 30%, p = 0.01). The protein level in ascitic fluid cirrhotic patients was significantly lower in SAI than in patients without SAI (7.6 g/l versus 11 g/l; p = 0.005). In a multivariate analysis, protein levels in ascitic fluid were the only factor associated with SAI (p = 0.024).