title: Altered mental status is an indicator of mortality and associated with both infectious and non-communicable disease in Lilongwe, Malawi.
abstract: Little is known about diseases associated with altered mental status (AMS) in resource-limited settings. We studied adult medicine patients presenting with AMS in Lilongwe, Malawi and found that AMS and HIV infection were each significantly associated with mortality. It is therefore critical that evaluation and management in this patient population is improved.
authors.affiliation: MD/PhD student, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill bryna_harrington@med.unc.edu.
authors.forename: Bryna
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Harrington
authors.affiliation: Fellow, Infectious Diseases, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York-Presbyterian Hospital.
authors.forename: Charles Kyriakos
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Vorkas
authors.affiliation: Physician Investigator, UNC Project-Malawi & Kamuzu Central Hospital.
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kanyama
authors.affiliation: Director, Kamuzu Central Hospital.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ngoma
authors.affiliation: Professor, UNC School of Medicine; International Director, UNC Project-Malawi.
authors.forename: Irving
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hoffman
authors.affiliation: Professor, UNC School of Medicine; Scientific Director, UNC Project-Malawi.
authors.forename: Mina C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Hosseinipour
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000523:psychology; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D008295:Malawi / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000523:psychology; D011204:Poverty Areas; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies
keywords: Altered mental status; HIV; infectious diseases; non-communicable diseases; resource-poor settings
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