Multilingual Validation of the Questionnaire for Verifying Stroke-Free Status in West Africa.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The Questionnaire for Verifying Stroke-Free Status (QVSFS), a method for verifying stroke-free status in participants of clinical, epidemiological, and genetic studies, has not been validated in low-income settings where populations have limited knowledge of stroke symptoms. We aimed to validate QVSFS in 3 languages, Yoruba, Hausa and Akan, for ascertainment of stroke-free status of control subjects enrolled in an on-going stroke epidemiological study in West Africa. METHODS: Data were collected using a cross-sectional study design where 384 participants were consecutively recruited from neurology and general medicine clinics of 5 tertiary referral hospitals in Nigeria and Ghana. Ascertainment of stroke status was by neurologists using structured neurological examination, review of case records, and neuroimaging (gold standard). Relative performance of QVSFS without and with pictures of stroke symptoms (pictograms) was assessed using sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value. RESULTS: The overall median age of the study participants was 54 years and 48.4% were males. Of 165 stroke cases identified by gold standard, 98% were determined to have had stroke, whereas of 219 without stroke 87% were determined to be stroke-free by QVSFS. Negative predictive value of the QVSFS across the 3 languages was 0.97 (range, 0.93-1.00), sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value were 0.98, 0.82, and 0.80, respectively. Agreement between the questionnaire with and without the pictogram was excellent/strong with Cohen k=0.92. CONCLUSIONS: QVSFS is a valid tool for verifying stroke-free status across culturally diverse populations in West Africa.

Phenotyping Stroke in Sub-Saharan Africa: Stroke Investigative Research and Education Network (SIREN) Phenomics Protocol.

BACKGROUND: As the second leading cause of death and the leading cause of adult-onset disability, stroke is a major public health concern particularly pertinent in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where nearly 80% of all global stroke mortalities occur, and stroke burden is projected to increase in the coming decades. However, traditional and emerging risk factors for stroke in SSA have not been well characterized, thus limiting efforts at curbing its devastating toll. The Stroke Investigative Research and Education Network (SIREN) project is aimed at comprehensively evaluating the key environmental and genomic risk factors for stroke (and its subtypes) in SSA while simultaneously building capacities in phenomics, biobanking, genomics, biostatistics, and bioinformatics for brain research. METHODS: SIREN is a transnational, multicentre, hospital and community-based study involving 3,000 cases and 3,000 controls recruited from 8 sites in Ghana and Nigeria. Cases will be hospital-based patients with first stroke within 10 days of onset in whom neurovascular imaging will be performed. Etiological and topographical stroke subtypes will be documented for all cases. Controls will be hospital- and community-based participants, matched to cases on the basis of gender, ethnicity, and age (±5 years). Information will be collected on known and proposed emerging risk factors for stroke. STUDY SIGNIFICANCE: SIREN is the largest study of stroke in Africa to date. It is anticipated that it will shed light on the phenotypic characteristics and risk factors of stroke and ultimately provide evidence base for strategic interventions to curtail the burgeoning burden of stroke on the sub-continent.

Morbidity and Mortality Patterns of Hospitalised Adult HIV/AIDS Patients in the Era of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy: A 4-year Retrospective Review from Zaria, Northern Nigeria.

Background. This study, undertaken in major tertiary hospital in northern Nigeria, examined the morbidity and mortality patterns of hospitalised adult HIV/AIDS patients in the HAART era. Methods. Between January 2006 and December 2009, admission records and causes of deaths of hospitalised medical HIV-infected patients were retrieved and analysed according to antiretroviral (ART) status. Results. Of the 207 HIV/AIDS patients reviewed, majority were newly diagnosed (73.4%), and most were hospitalised and died from various AIDS-defining illnesses, mainly disseminated tuberculosis and sepsis. Immune-inflammatory-reconstitution-syndrome, ART-toxicity and ART-failure, contributed to morbidity and mortality in patients receiving ART. Sixty six (31.9%) patients died, with higher mortality in males and in those with lower CD4-cell count, lower PCV, and shorter hospital stay. However, hospital stay ≤3 days and severe anaemia (PCV < 24%) were independent predictors of mortality. Conclusion. In the current HAART era, late presentation and tuberculosis continue to fuel the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa, with emerging challenges due to ART-related complications.