Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences

Despite the growing global integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare, limited evidence exists regarding healthcare professionals’ preparedness for its adoption in Tanzania. Understanding their knowledge, attitudes, and practices is critical for successful implementation. This study aimed to assess healthcare professionals’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding AI in medical diagnosis and treatment planning in a tertiary hospital in Tanzania. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted between September and December 2024 at Bugando Medical Centre. A stratified random sampling technique was used to recruit 323 participants. Data were collected using a validated self-administered questionnaire. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 26. Descriptive statistics were computed, and chi-square tests were used to assess associations at p < 0.05. A total of 320 healthcare professionals participated (response rate: 99.1

Background Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability globally, with sub-Saharan Africa, bearing the greatest burden. Tanzania has only one active stroke registry, limiting evidence-based care and policy development. We aimed to expand the registry into a multi-centre study across eight major tertiary hospitals to generate baseline data for a national stroke registry. Methods From January to August 2024, we analysed de-identified data from adults (≥18 years) admitted with a World Health Organisation defined stroke. Data collected included demographics, risk factors, imaging, and in-hospital mortality. Logistic regression identified predictors of mortality. Results A total of 1000 patients were registered with a mean age 60.2±15 years and 56.2% (562/1000) were females. Most strokes occurred in those aged 50-69 years 46.3% (463/1000). Hypertension was the most common risk factor 90.1% (901/1000), followed by diabetes 13.1% (131/1000), prior stroke 10.6% (106/1000) and HIV infection 3.5% (35/1000). Haemorrhagic and ischaemic strokes accounted for 57.9% (579/1000) and 38.3% (383/1000) of cases, respectively; and 5% (19/383) of ischaemic strokes presented within 4.5 h from symptom onset. In-hospital mortality was 31.5% (315/1000), highest among patients aged 50–59 years (23.2%). Independent predictors of mortality included previous cardiac disease (aOR 2.15; 95% CI: 1.18–3.94) and haemorrhagic stroke (aOR 1.38; 95% CI: 1.12–2.02). Conclusions Stroke imposes a high burden in Tanzania, with substantial mortality and delayed presentation. Strengthening hypertension control, early stroke recognition, and organized stroke unit care are critical priorities. These findings provide foundational data for the national stroke surveillance initiative and support evidence-based planning for stroke prevention, acute care, and system readiness across Tanzania.

Background H. pylori infection has been recognized as one of the most common infections in humans affecting almost half of the world population. Detection of Helicobacter pylori infection in resource limited areas mainly based on stool antigen test and serological test. Detection of H. pylori by using culture method has been a challenge especially in resource limited area because of the requirement need in growing and isolating this organism in laboratory. There is no study which has been done in Tanzania on detecting these bacteria by using culture method. Methodology A cross-sectional study was conducted at Muhimbili National Hospital from September 2020 to February 2021. We consecutively enrolled patients undergoing upper endoscopy at Muhimbili National Hospital after meeting inclusion criteria. Detection of Helicobacter pylori infection was done using rapid urease test and those turned positive were taken for culture and sensitivity. Sensivity testing with the use of selected antibiotics was done using the disc diffusion method. The isolates with characteristics of gram-negative straight rods, oxidase-positive, urease-positive, and catalase-positive were identified as Helicobacter pylori. Results A total of 290 participants were involved in this study, 123 (42.4%) tested positive for H. pylori infection using rapid urease test. We were able to isolate H. pylori from 29 specimens by culture method from 123 (23.6%) specimens which were positive by rapid urease test. Helicobacter pylori resistance to clarithromycin, amoxicillin, metronidazole, levofloxacin, ciprofloxacin and tetracycline was 65.5%, 86.2%, 100%, 0%, 3.5%, and 31% respectively. Conclusion Helicobacter pylori infection is very common in resource limited areas. Detection of H. pylori using culture methods is very important, as it allows performance of antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Resistance to common antibiotics used in treating and eradicating H. pylori infection is very high. Extensive local studies using the recommended methods for antimicrobial susceptibly testing is advocated.

Background Accurate grossing and histopathological reporting of colorectal cancer (CRC) resection specimens are critical for staging, prognostication and treatment planning. International guidelines such as those developed by the International Collaboration on Cancer Reporting (ICCR) provide standardized datasets to improve reporting quality. However, implementation of these standards remains inconsistent in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional audit of colorectal cancer resection specimens reported at the Central Pathology Laboratory of Muhimbili National Hospital, Tanzania, between January 2019 and December 2021. Histopathology reports, archived slides and clinical request forms were reviewed. Data were extracted using the ICCR colorectal cancer reporting checklist to assess adequacy of pre-analytical clinical information, grossing practices and histopathological reporting. Results A total of 183 colorectal cancer resections were included. The mean age of patients was 52.7 (± 14.9)years and 59% were male. Clinical information accompanying specimens was generally adequate with clinical impression provided in 83.6% of cases and type of colectomy documented in 91.3%. However, neoadjuvant therapy history (57.4%) and intraoperative tumor extent (50.8%) were frequently missing. Grossing documentation was satisfactory for tumor location (90.7%) and margin sampling of proximal (95.1%) and distal margins (99.5%). Major deficiencies were observed in lymph node harvesting (44.8%) and radial margin sampling (45.9%). Histopathology reports consistently included histologic subtype and tumor extension (92.3%), but lymph node status (67.2%), pathological staging (71%) and radial margin status (45.9%) were incompletely reported. Provision of detailed intraoperative findings was significantly associated with improved grossing and reporting quality. Conclusion Significant gaps exist in the pathology handling and reporting of colorectal cancer resections at a national referral hospital in Tanzania. Deficiencies in lymph node assessment, circumferential margin evaluation and standardized staging may compromise prognostic assessment and treatment planning. Adoption of ICCR synoptic reporting and strengthened multidisciplinary communication are urgently needed to improve pathology quality standards in resource-limited settings.

Background: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common congenital anomaly worldwide and a leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Genetic factors, including mutations in cardiac transcription factor genes such as MEF2C, play a critical role in cardiac development. However, data on MEF2C gene mutations in Sub-Saharan Africa remain limited. This study aimed to determine the presence of MEF2C gene mutations among infants with CHD attending Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute (JKCI), Tanzania. Methods: A case-control study was conducted involving 62 infants with echocardiographically confirmed CHD and 101 healthy controls aged 0 to 12 months. Genomic DNA was extracted from dry blood spot samples, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify exon 1 and exon 11 of the MEF2C gene. Due to resource constraints, 10 samples from cases and 10 from controls with adequate DNA quality were selected for sequencing. Sequence analysis was performed using BLAST and MEGA11 software, and the pathogenicity of identified variants was assessed using MutationTaster and Swiss-modeling tools. Results: Among the sequenced samples, two non-synonymous MEF2C mutations were identified exclusively in CHD cases. A missense mutation (c.185T>A; p.M62K) was detected in an 8-month-old male with patent ductus arteriosus, while an insertion mutation (c.64_65insA; p.T22N) causing a frameshift and truncated protein was identified in an 8-month-old female with tetralogy of Fallot. These mutations were absent in all control samples and were predicted to be disease-causing. Conclusion: This study identified potentially pathogenic MEF2C gene mutations among infants with CHD, suggesting a role of this gene in the disease pathogenesis. The findings highlight the importance of genetic studies in understanding CHD in low-resource settings and underscore the need for larger-scale genomic and functional studies to validate these associations.