Nigerian Postgraduate Medical Journal

Actinomycosis of the tonsils is uncommon even though the causative organisms are normal commensal of the oropharyngeal tract that may colonise the tonsillar crypts with resultant infection in apparently healthy individuals. Diagnosis is often incidental in tonsillectomy specimens sent to the pathology laboratory for varied diseases. This is a 10-year study of tonsillectomy specimens diagnosed with actinomycosis. Specimens were formalin-fixed and paraffin processed and stained with haematoxylin and eosin, gromott methenamine silver and periodic acid-Schiff...

Microvascular reconstruction in pregnancy is rare. We report a case of complex distal lower-extremity trauma in early pregnancy reconstructed with a microvascular free muscle flap. A 30-year-old female with 13 weeks gestation had a crush avulsion of the distal left leg with medial malleolar fracture; she had two sessions of debridement, joint stabilising external fixator frame, and a vaccum assisted closure dressing application. Two weeks later, a right latissimus muscle flap was harvested. Flap was transferred to the debrided leg defect...

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to detect the impact of politics, security and health on the escalation of road traffic accidents (RTAs) and their consequences in Iraq for the period 2015-2020. METHODOLOGY: The data of this cross-sectional study were obtained from the annual reports of RTA statistics from the Central Statistical Organisation of the Iraqi Ministry of Planning. The statistical analysis of data was done using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences...

BACKGROUND: The long-term use of topical anti-glaucoma medications is often associated with ocular surface toxicity that can affect the patient's drug compliance and quality of life. This study assessed the effect of these medications, using cytological changes of the conjunctiva and ocular surface symptoms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a clinic-based, case-control study that was conducted at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital that compared glaucoma patients on topical medications with age-sex-matched controls...

CONTEXT: The undiagnosed and untreated tuberculosis (TB) cases underpin the experience of accelerating deaths. Everyone should be engaged in managing TB patients to revert the current trend. AIMS: In this context, we assessed the outcome of an education intervention on the knowledge of TB and referral practice of presumptive TB cases to directly observed therapy strategy amongst patent medicine vendors (PMVs). SETTINGS AND DESIGN: The study was quasi-experimental, conducted amongst 647 PMVs in Delta State, Nigeria...

BACKGROUND: Health promotion (HP) is a part of the general practitioners' (GPs) competencies defined by the World Organization of Family Doctors. The implementation of HP in their practice is unsatisfactory. AIMS: The aim of this study was to explore GPs knowledge, attitudes and practices in Morocco about HP at the primary healthcare services. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online self-administrated questionnaire including, knowledge, attitudes and practices of GPs toward HP...

INTRODUCTION: Varicocele is a treatable aetiology of male infertility. Magnification with surgical loupe has been associated with improved outcome and reduced morbidity than the conventional technique without magnification. OBJECTIVE: To compare the outcomes of two techniques of subinguinal varicocelectomy, with a surgical loupe and without. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a prospective randomised hospital-based study. Forty-six patients were randomised to two arms - Group A: loupe-assisted subinguinal varicocelectomy (LASV) and Group B: open subinguinal varicocelectomy without Loupe (OSV)...

INTRODUCTION: A newly cut neonatal umbilical stump is a potential portal of pathogen entry leading to omphalitis. Neonatal sepsis can complicate omphalitis, but good cord care practices can reduce this risk. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess umbilical cord care practices in tertiary-, secondary- and primary-level healthcare facilities in Jos, Nigeria. METHODS: A multi-centre, cross-sectional study of 284 mothers of infants aged 3-6 weeks old attending immunisation clinics in the three-level healthcare facilities using multistage sampling technique between April and September 2019...

BACKGROUND: Kidney diseases requiring haemodialysis are becoming an emerging public health problem. This study aimed to determine the burden, socio-demographic and other risk factors associated with haemodialysis in Northwest Nigeria. METHODOLOGY: The study was a retrospective multicentre review of secondary data from the dialysis centres of public hospitals in northwestern Nigeria. Risk factors for renal failure were examined in 1329 patients who were enrolled for haemodialysis between 2019 and 2022 in the four public dialysis centres in Kano and Jigawa state...

INTRODUCTION: Sleep disturbance is common in persons with stroke and when unrecognised and untreated may hinder rehabilitation efforts and lead to poor functional outcome. It may also result in increased risk for stroke recurrence. AIM: We investigated the frequency and associated factors of sleep disturbances amongst stroke survivors. METHODOLOGY: One hundred and ten stroke survivors attending the neurology outpatient clinics of two tertiary hospitals, from February 2021 to January 2022, were interviewed after obtaining ethical approval and informed consent...

BACKGROUND: Neurological soft signs (NSS), as subtle, nonlocalising neurological abnormalities, are considered as the potential markers of psychosis. However, comparative studies of antipsychotic-naïve patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP) and first degree relatives (FDRs) are uncommon. We compared the prevalence and pattern of NSS in FEPs, their healthy FDRs and a healthy non-relatives' control group (HC), highlighted the relationship between NSS and psychopathology and proposed cut-off scores for prevalence studies...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

The rehabilitation of facial deformities is a challenging endeavour that necessitates customising the procedure for each patient. Significant physical and psychological impacts might arise as a result of the deformity in the orofacial region. Post-COVID rhino-orbital mucormycosis has led to rise in extraoral and intraoral defects since 2020. To avoid further surgery, an economical maxillofacial prosthesis is an excellent choice as it is aesthetic, durable, long-lasting and retentive. This case report describes the prosthetic rehabilitation of the patient with post-COVID mucormycosis maxillectomy and orbital exenteration using a magnet-retained closed bulb hollow acrylic obturator and room-temperature vulcanising silicone orbital prosthesis...

INTRODUCTION: Hypertension and diabetes have become major non-communicable diseases of public health importance globally, considering the magnitude of the diseases, the propensity to worsen the patients' quality of life and the associated mortality. This study compared the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of hypertensive and diabetic patients in both tertiary and secondary health facilities in Kaduna State, north-western Nigeria. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a descriptive comparative cross-sectional study amongst 325 patients, of which 93 (28...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Birth asphyxia is one of the three main causes of neonatal mortality in Nigeria. Hypomagnesaemia has been reported amongst severely asphyxiated babies. Despite this, the prevalence of hypomagnesaemia amongst newborns with birth asphyxia has not been well researched in Nigeria. This study set out to determine the prevalence of hypomagnesaemia in term neonates with birth asphyxia and the relationship (if any) between magnesium levels and the severity of birth asphyxia or encephalopathy...

INTRODUCTION: An effective referral system is crucial for a high-quality health system that provides safe medical care. AIM AND OBJECTIVES: This study aimed at evaluating the appropriateness and adequacies of information in the referral letters of patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective study of referral letters of all new patients in the urology clinic. Information retrieved was socio-demographic characteristics, source of referral and presence or absence of important information in their letters...

INTRODUCTION: Medication errors (MEs) are important, often overlooked forms of medical error that are associated with morbidity and mortality in health care settings. Among health care workers, knowledge, attitude and perception may affect reporting of MEs. AIM: The aim of this study was to determine the level of knowledge and perception of MEs among health care workers in Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 138 health care workers selected randomly through a stratified sampling...

INTRODUCTION: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the most prevalent sustained arrhythmias that is seen in clinical practice. AF commonly coexists with heart failure (HF) and there is growing evidence that it confers an adverse prognostic impact on the natural course of the disease. We set out to describe the prevalence and clinical profile of HF patients with AF in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Kano, Nigeria. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of all adults aged 18 years and above, who presented at the AKTH, Kano, and were hospitalised for HF...

INTRODUCTION: Inappropriate use of antibiotics for childhood illnesses, especially for non-bacterial infections, contributes to the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Globally, implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programme (ASP) in all healthcare institutions is a strategic intervention to improve the appropriate use of antibiotics, reduce antimicrobial consumption and tackle AMR. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of prospective audit with intervention and feedback as an antimicrobial stewardship strategy on antimicrobial use, evaluate prescribers' response to recommendations and determine the rate of AMR in the Paediatrics Department of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria...

INTRODUCTION: Otomycosis is a global disease, common in the world's tropical and subtropical regions. The diagnosis is clinical, but mycological examination is required for its confirmation. There is a paucity of published data on otomycosis particularly the aetiologic agents in Nigeria. This study aims to fill in this gap by assessing the clinical presentations, risk factors and aetiologic agents of otomycosis in our setting. METHODS: This was a prospective study of 126 clinically diagnosed patients and 30 controls...