Nigerian Medical Journal : Journal of the Nigeria Medical Association

BACKGROUND: The majority of global COVID deaths have occurred in developed countries. Not much is known about the clinical outcomes for the patients admitted with COVID in Nigeria. We thus described the clinical characteristics, outcomes, and predictors of outcomes of hospitalized Nigerian COVID-19 patients. METHODOLOGY: We performed multilevel and mixed effects regression, Kaplan-Meir survival, and Cox proportionate hazards analyses to evaluate factors associated with death in patients admitted for COVID-19 in 13 high-burden states of Nigeria between 25th February 2020 and 30th August 2021...

BACKGROUND: This study aims to assess the orthodontists'/orthodontic resident doctors' use of social media, social variables such as gender and age grouping and the impact of social media use on orthodontic practice. METHODOLOGY: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among Orthodontists and orthodontic residents in the country. This study involved a convenient sampling. A self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection on socio-demographics, social media use and its perceived impact on orthodontic practices...

Polymorphous low-grade adenocarcinoma (PLGA) is a rare neoplasm with an indolent course that occurs mainly in minor salivary glands and rarely in major salivary glands. It is characterised by morphological diversity hence the term polymorphous has been used. Diagnosis is often challenging due to variable microscopic growth patterns. The most common clinical presentation is asymptomatic painless mass which is slow growing. The treatment of choice is wide surgical excision with negative margins. The role of radiotherapy is still not clear but considered in cases with positive margins and advanced stage...

BACKGROUND: Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine's immunomodulatory properties can protect against respiratory infections due to its nonspecific trained immunity of innate immune cells. The objective of the study is to assess the effectiveness of BCG in reducing incidence and morality of ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. METHODOLOGY: The present study is a secondary data analysis to compare the incidence and mortality of COVID 19 among countries who had BCG vaccine in their national immunisation schedule with other group of countries who did not have...

BACKGROUND: Recently, the incidence of head and neck cancers are on the increase globally and particularly in our environment. In addition, concurrent platinum-based chemoradiotherapy has become widely used in the treatment of head and neck malignancies. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of cisplatin-based chemotherapy on hearing in patients with head and neck cancers at our University Teaching Hospital. METHODOLOGY: This was a hospital-based longitudinal case-control study that involved 54 participants attending the oncology treatment centre of the University Teaching Hospital Zaria...

BACKGROUND: Myopathy is a disorder of skeletal muscles and has a rare occurrence in pregnancy. It may present with numbness/weakness. The occurrence of isolated weakness involving all the limbs is alarming to the patient and the diagnosis can be challenging to the Obstetrician. We present a case of hypokalaemic paralysis in pregnancy. CASE REPORT: A 32-year-old grand multipara presented at 31 weeks gestation with numbness in all limbs for nine days and one-day history of weakness in all limbs...

BACKGROUND: To determine knowledge and perception of key danger signs of pregnancy among mothers in urban and rural communities of Ebonyi state, Nigeria. METHODOLOGY: A comparative cross-sectional study design was used. The two-stage sampling technique was used to select 660 women in four of thirteen local government areas in the state. The women have delivered in last one year irrespective of place of delivery. Outcome measure included good knowledge of danger signs and was assessed by proportion of respondents who recalled four of eight danger signs...

BACKGROUND: Diarrhoeal diseases are a major cause of death worldwide particularly among under-fives and probiotics is used in the management of diarrheal diseases. While some probiotics are of unproven usefulness, others are. Despite the burden of diarrhoea diseases in Africa, there is paucity of studies to support the efficacy or otherwise of S. boulardii among children with diarrheal disease. This study examined the impact of S. boulardii on the clinical course of acute watery diarrhea in children in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria...

BACKGROUND: Preterm birth is the delivery of a baby before 37 weeks of gestation. Hypertension in pregnancy has been found to be the most common cause of medically indicated preterm birth leading to significant neonatal mortality and morbidity. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of medically indicated preterm births due to hypertension in pregnancy, the pattern of maternal characteristics and the immediate neonatal outcome. Study Design: A descriptive cross-sectional study of all medically indicated preterm births due to hypertensive disorders in pregnancy at National Hospital Abuja from 1st January 2008 to 31st December 2012...

BACKGROUND: The pattern and case fatality rate of Paediatric Lassa fever disease (LFD) is not well documented even in Lassa fever endemic communities. AIM AND OBJECTIVE: This prospective observational study was aimed at determining the pattern and outcome of Paediatric LFD. METHODOLOGY: A total of 183 children that met the criteria for LFD suspects were subjected to the Lassa virus PCR test. The suspects that tested positive were recruited into the study and a structured questionnaire was used to collect information on socio-demographics...

BACKGROUND: Occupational diseases can result in sickness absence, economic loss, disability, or death of workers. Several studies have revealed that occupational health and safety practice is still low in some occupational groups despite their knowledge and the occupational health legislation. This study assessed the level of knowledge, attitude, and practices of automobile mechanics towards occupational health hazards and safety in a Local Government Area of Lagos State. METHODOLOGY: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 120 consenting registered automobile mechanics in the Surulere Local Government Area of Lagos State...

BACKGROUND: Occupational diseases can result in sickness absence, economic loss, disability, or death of workers. Several studies have revealed that occupational health and safety practice is still low in some occupational groups despite their knowledge and the occupational health legislation. This study assessed the level of knowledge, Background: Occupational health service delivery, includes the creation of a safe and healthy work environment. The protection and promotion of workers' health; is at its infantile stages in the informal sector such as the welding industry in Nigeria...

BACKGROUND: Health providers play pivotal roles in achieving respectful maternity care (RMC). This study assessed the training, knowledge, and perception of respectful maternity care among maternal health providers in a Nigerian tertiary hospital. METHODOLOGY: This was across-sectional study conducted among 156 maternal health providers in Ebonyi Nigeria. Self-administered questionnaires were used for data collection. RESULTS: The respondents had a mean age of 31...

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) is a major public health concern in most underdeveloped and developing countries. PTB affects the nutritional status of the patients and influences the body mass index (BMI). There is tissue inflammation and free radical burst from activated phagocytes resulting in oxidative stress. The present study was designed to assess the relationship between oxidative stress and body mass index in newly detected pulmonary tuberculosis patients. METHOD: This was a case-control study designed to assess oxidative stress parameters such as nitric oxide (NO) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in 40 consecutives newly diagnosed PTB patients and compared with 40 age-matched healthy controls...

Digoxin toxicity has been implicated in all forms of cardiac arrhythmias with the notable exception of Mobitz II atrioventricular block, which is very rare. The manifestation is quite variable, ranging from being asymptomatic to gastrointestinal, cardiac, and neurologic symptoms. The manifestations can be protean in the elderly, the most vulnerable group, where degenerative cardiac conduction system diseases add another layer of intrigue by providing an intrinsic substrate for cardiac dysrhythmia. This is in addition to age-related alteration of digoxin pharmacokinetics, use of multiple medications, chronic conditions, and electrolyte derangement, all of which increase the propensity for digoxin toxicity...

BACKGROUND: Topical corticosteroids have had an immense impact in the treatment of skin diseases since their advent and are important in the management of corticosteroid-responsive dermatoses. Triple action creams (TAC) on the other hand are a combination of antibiotics, antifungals and corticosteroids in one cream, in an unspecific bid to target infected dermatoses. The use of TAC has constituted a source of corticosteroid misuse and abuse. This study aims to determine the knowledge, attitude, and prescription practices of TACs among doctors in South-Eastern Nigeria...

BACKGROUND: The quality of a physician is arguably related to the depth and quality of medical education received. As cancer devastates the health and economy of developing countries like Nigeria, it becomes increasingly important for physicians in these countries to be equipped with basic knowledge and skill to adequately detect, diagnose, refer and manage common cancers. This study reviewed exposure to oncology training as a component of the medical school's curriculum in Nigeria from the trainee's perspective...

BACKGROUND: About 1 million children become ill with tuberculosis every year, representing 10-12% of all cases of tuberculosis notified globally. HIV infection in children is often due to transmission from mothers to children. HIV infection in children increases their risk of having tuberculosis. Sub-Sahara Africa has one of the highest TB incidences and HIV prevalence thus children in this region bear a huge burden of TB/HIV infection. In addition, the treatment success rate in many countries is rarely disaggregated to evaluate children...

BACKGROUND: The inaccuracies in clinical examination have been well-documented while advanced imaging modalities including computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have been shown to have superior diagnostic accuracy in detecting occult and nodal metastasis. The aim of the present study was to identify as well as evaluate the inaccuracies in clinical examination and of clinical diagnostic criteria in known cases of oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs) with the help of MRI...

BACKGROUND: This study ascertained the level of distraction attributable to cell phone by drivers in Enugu. METHODOLOGY: This study was conducted in Enugu, Nigeria using a validated structured questionnaire randomly administered to drivers in different locations in the city. Study period was 2 months and different forms of distraction while driving were tested. RESULT: There were 500 participants in the study. 306(61.2%) were males and 194(38...