Diagnosis and treatment of common infectious diseases in severely ill sub-Saharan African patients Studies from a hospital floor

This thesis illustrates that important aspects of diagnosis and treatment of common infectious diseases in a hospital setting in Mozambique are inadequate. The inadequacies found in our studies are likely to be explained by a combination of patient population factors and health care system restraints. Although substantial differences may exist between hospitals and between countries, studies from other sub-Saharan Africa low-income countries with colliding HIV and TB epidemics have shown that the sort of inadequacies we observed are neither unique to one hospital, nor to one country. The study results and the underlying issues raised provide starting points for change and ideas for further research.