RESUMEN
Molecular pathology services for colorectal cancer (CRC) in Sudan represent a significant unmet clinical need. In a retrospective cohort study involving 50 patients diagnosed with CRC at three major medical settings in Sudan, we aimed to outline the introduction of a molecular genetic service for CRC in Sudan, and to explore the CRC molecular features and their relationship to patient survival and clinicopathological characteristics. Mismatch repair (MMR) and BRAF (V600E) mutation status were determined by immunohistochemistry. A mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) subtype was demonstrated in 16% of cases, and a presumptive Lynch Syndrome (LS) diagnosis was made in up to 14% of patients. dMMR CRC in Sudan is characterized by younger age at diagnosis and a higher incidence of right-sided tumours. We report a high mortality in Sudanese CRC patients, which correlates with advanced disease stage, and MMR status. Routine MMR immunohistochemistry (with sequential BRAF mutation analysis) is a feasible CRC prognostic and predictive molecular biomarker, as well as a screening tool for LS in low-middle-income countries (LMICs).
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Neoplasias Colorrectales Hereditarias sin Poliposis , Neoplasias Colorrectales , Neoplasias Colorrectales/diagnóstico , Neoplasias Colorrectales/genética , Neoplasias Colorrectales/patología , Neoplasias Colorrectales Hereditarias sin Poliposis/diagnóstico , Neoplasias Colorrectales Hereditarias sin Poliposis/genética , Neoplasias Colorrectales Hereditarias sin Poliposis/patología , Reparación de la Incompatibilidad de ADN/genética , Estudios de Factibilidad , Humanos , Inestabilidad de Microsatélites , Proteínas Proto-Oncogénicas B-raf/genética , Estudios RetrospectivosRESUMEN
Background: Understanding the pattern of care use can provide valuable information for reform interventions. This study investigates the pattern of healthcare utilization and its association with drug acquisition patterns and expenses in the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) of Al Jazira State in Sudan. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted at NHIF primary healthcare centers of Al Jazirah state in Sudan. Results: A total of 768 beneficiaries were interviewed, of which 63.2% reported using out-of-network physician care, while 36.8% receive care from the NHIF physician network only. More than half (60.8%) of NHIF-interviewed clients reported a heavy burden of medication costs. The pattern of physician utilization was significantly associated with the number and source of regular drugs, the burden of out-of-pocket payment, and monthly out-of-pocket expenditures on medications, (p < 0.001). The regression analysis revealed that gender, marital status, number of chronic diseases, and number of regular drugs were the significant predictors of the pattern of physician care utilization; these factors explained nearly 36% of the variance in respondents' pattern of physician care utilization. Conclusions: An impressive proportion of out-of-network care was found in Al Jazirah State in Sudan. The NHIF stakeholders should consider medication subsidy as a potential strategy for decreasing patient leakage to out-of-network services.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Resident physicians in Sudan face a variety of physical and psychological stressors. Nevertheless, the prevalence of burnout syndrome among this critical population remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence rate of burnout and its associated factors in a sample of resident physicians in Sudan. METHODS: A cross-sectional design was used to assess the burnout syndrome among resident physicians at the teaching hospitals of Wad-Medani in Gezira state, east-central Sudan. Three hundred resident physicians at the dermatology, general surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry, ear, nose and throat (ENT), oncology, urology, and internal medicine departments, were approached and invited to participate in the study. The Arabic version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory was distributed to respondents from July to October 2021. RESULTS: From the 300 resident physicians, 208 (69.3%) responded. The average age of the study population was 29.99 ± 3.01 years, with more than half were females (56.7%), single (59.6%), and with more than three years of residency experience (50.5%). In total, 86.1% met the criteria for burnout in at least one dimension and 13.9% in all three dimensions. On the dimension of emotional exhaustion (EE), 70.7% reported high levels of burnout. While, 44.2% reported high levels of depersonalization (DP), and 73.1% experienced a sense of decreased professional accomplishment (PA). There were significant differences in burnout, EE, and DP levels among different specialties, with the pediatrics-specialty trainees reported higher levels. Burnout syndrome was associated with the working hours per single duty; participants who reported working for more than 24 hours had experienced higher levels of burnout, EE, and DP. CONCLUSION: Large-scale studies are required to assess the determinants of burnout syndrome among resident physicians in Sudan. In addition, Stakeholders should urgently implement effective remedies to protect the mental health of resident physicians.
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Agotamiento Profesional , Médicos , Adulto , Agotamiento Profesional/epidemiología , Agotamiento Profesional/psicología , Agotamiento Psicológico/epidemiología , Niño , Estudios Transversales , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Médicos/psicología , Sudán/epidemiología , Encuestas y CuestionariosRESUMEN
Background: Workplace violence (WPV) against healthcare workers (HCWs) is a growing global issue. During the coronavirus diseases-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, violent attacks on HCWs have been documented worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the magnitude and pattern of WPV among HCWs in Sudan during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A web-based cross-sectional study of WPV was conducted among registered medical and health workers (pharmacists, physicians, dentists, nurses, laboratory technicians, and administrative and paramedical staff) during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sudan. Data were collected from August to December 2021 using a self-administered questionnaire distributed through social media platforms. Results: A total of 792 HCWs returned the online questionnaire. The mean age was 33.5 ± 8.6 years, where more than half were females (54.9%) and working during the day shift (58.8%). During the COVID-19 pandemic, three out of every four participants (78.3%) reported experiencing violence, with 65.8 % experiencing it more than three times. The common types of violence experienced were verbal (91.6%), physical (50.0%), and sexual abuse (11.0%). The emergency department reported the highest number of violent incidents (46.9%). Half of these violent events were not reported (50.3%), primarily due to a lack of a reporting system. The demographic factors that were significantly associated with exposure to violence were participants' occupation (p < 0.001), age (p = 0.001), marital status (p = 0.002), and years of working experience (p = 0.020). Conclusion: WPV was rampant among the HCWs in Sudan during the COVID-19 pandemic. The current findings are presented to draw the attention of policy leaders and stakeholders in Sudan to this alarming problem prompting the pressing need for policy and system interventions.