Prevalence of hypertension and diabetes mellitus in adults from a rural community in Ghana.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of hypertension and diabetes mellitus (DM) in the Adankwame community of Ghana. DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional, observational study. SETTING: This study took place in the rural Adankwame community of Ghana, approximately 12 km from Kumasi, Ghana. PARTICIPANTS: Study subjects were adults (older than aged 18 years). A two-tier random sampling approach was taken to recruit study participants to achieve a sample size of 326 adults, 94 males and 232 females. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The subjects' height, weight, abdominal circumference, demographic and risk factor information, blood pressure measurements, and blood glucose levels were measured and recorded. RESULTS: The mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures in the population were 131 (SD 26.61) and 78 mmHg (SD 15.24), respectively. The prevalence of hypertension was 0.35 (95% CI 0.30-0.40). The prevalence of pre-hypertension, Stage 1 hypertension, and Stage 2 hypertension were approximately 0.248, 0.19, and 0.16, respectively. Mean fasting blood sugar and random blood sugar in the study population were 108 mg/dL (SD 35.33) and 131 mg/dL (SD 41.35), respectively. The overall prevalence of DM in this sample population was 0.077 (95% Cl 0.05-0.11). CONCLUSIONS: Hypertension and diabetes mellitus are rising as diseases of public health importance in the Adankwame community. Research to provide substantial data on the prevalence of these two diseases in Ghana is needed to inform national non-communicable disease policy.

Infective endophthalmitis due to Group G Streptococcal infection in a patient with metastatic ovarian carcinoma.

A woman with stage IV metastatic papillary serous ovarian cancer presented with fever, altered mental status, difficulty with vision and right knee pain. On physical examination, she had pain on palpation and with flexion and extension of the left knee and bilateral purulent, bilateral conjunctivitis. Vitreal ultrasound revealed dense opacities within the posterior vitreous detachment bilaterally. Aspiration of both the left knee and vitreous fluid from the left eye revealed Group G Streptococcus (GGS). Later blood cultures also revealed GGS, susceptible to both vancomycin and cephalosporins. She was started on broad-spectrum antibiotics. The patient was diagnosed with bilateral GGS endophthalmitis and was treated with vitreous injections of vancomycin and ceftazidime. The patient improved significantly after antibiotic treatment though vision was not restored. Given the loss of vision and recurrent metastatic ovarian cancer, she opted to pursue palliative care and passed away within the year.