Clinical characterisation and management outcomes of COVID-19 infection in pregnancy in a Nigerian tertiary hospital

Background: Literature on the antenatal and perinatal management and outcomes of COVID-19 infection in pregnancy in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa is gradually emerging but sparse. There is an urgent need to build up the knowledge base of COVID-19 infection in Nigerian pregnant women. The objective of the current study was to determine the clinical characteristics and management outcomes of COVID-19 infection in pregnancy at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex (OAUTHC), Ile-Ife, Nigeria.Methods: A one-year retrospective review of all cases of COVID-19 infection in pregnancy managed at the OAUTHC. Relevant data were extracted from the case records of all cases managed using a purpose-designed proforma. Data collected was analysed using IBM-SPSS, version 24. Associations between categorical variables were assessed using chi square, with level of significance set at <0.05.Results: A total of 22 cases were managed. Majority (15, 68.2%) of the women were either asymptomatic or had mild symptoms. The commonest symptom was cough (8, 36.4%). The mean duration of admission was 6.6±4.2 days. The most common maternal and perinatal complication was preterm delivery/birth (3, 13.6%). There was no maternal mortality. The mean birth weight of the babies was 3226g±597g, with mean 1- and 5- minutes Apgar scores of 8.0±1.3 and 9.5±0.6 respectively.Conclusions: Although COVID-19 infection in pregnancy is an asymptomatic or mild infection in the majority of cases in Ile-Ife, Nigeria, it is associated with adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes. Further studies are recommended to determine transplacental transmission of COVID-19 infection and antibodies

Have you seen a rape kit? A snapshot at the quality of care of rape survivors in Nigerian tertiary hospitals

Context: The rape kit has become a fundamental tool in the evaluation of the rape survivor in many countries. Itsavailability and use in Nigeria has however not been documented.Objective: To assess the current availability and usage of the rape kit in Nigerian tertiary hospitals, and evaluate the management of rape survivors.Methodology: Resident Doctors attending the Obstetrics and Gynaecology update course, held in Abuja in March,2009 were interviewed using a self-administered questionnaire assessing experience in rape management, knowledge about the rape kit and its availability, as well as current management of rape survivors.Results: There were 138 respondents from 25 tertiary hospitals, with a male-to-female ratio of 2.8:1 and a meanduration of 3.3 (SD 1.4) years in training. 120 (87%) had personally managed one or more rape survivor(s), but none of the respondents had ever seen a rape kit, and only 29% were aware of it. Although all the respondents indicated availability of emergency contraception, antibiotics and tetanus prophylaxis in their centres, only 32.4% had access to HBV vaccine, and about 8% indicated lack of HIV prophylaxis. Only 28.7% and 45.6% indicated access to clinical psychologists and medical social workers respectively.Conclusion: The rape kit is not available in Nigerian tertiary hospitals. We recommend its provision, and regulartraining of doctors, especially Obstetrics and Gynaecology Residents on rape management, to improve the care ofrape survivors in Nigeria.Key Words: Rape, Rape kit, Rape survivor, Nigeria

Factors Associated with the Survival Outcome of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients on Supportive Care in a Tertiary Hospital in South-West Nigeria

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a primary liver cancer. This study assessed the factors associated with the survival outcome of HCC on supportive care. Methods: This was a prospective cohort study carried out from January 2010 to June 2016 on cases of HCC recruited into a cancer data registry. Clinical, laboratory and survival outcomes were obtained. Data obtained were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: A total of 149 cases were analyzed: 120 (80.5%) males and 29 (19.5%) females. Age range was 18-87years, with mean (SD) being 45.0 (14.3) years. Identifiable aetiological factors were hepatitis B and C viruses, alcohol and herbal preparations in 94% while no risk factor was identified in 6%. Some risks co-occurred in multiples in 71.2% of cases. The overall median survival was 20 days, and general survival was 59.1% at two weeks, 33.6 % at one month, and only 7.3% surviving beyond thirty one days to two years. The survival of cases, according to the Child-Pugh (CTP) class, was CTP A: 36 days (ranged 4 to 730 days), CTP class B: 22 days (ranged 1 to 210 days) and CTP class C: 14 days (ranged 2 to 660 days). Higher proportion of young cases was HBsAg positive. Factors significantly associated with survival outcome included older age, female sex, abdominal pain, jaundice, elevated creatinine, bilirubin, AST, ALT, white cell count and hyponatreamia. Conclusion: Overall survival outcome among cases of HCC was poor. It is necessary to prevent HBV, reduce alcohol use, detect and treat HCC early

Declining prevalence of duodenal ulcer at endoscopy in Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Background. Duodenal ulcer is the most common peptic ulcer disease worldwide. In the past, sub-Saharan Africa has been described as an area of mixed prevalence for peptic ulcer disease, but recent reports have disputed this. Changes in the prevalence of duodenal ulcer have been reported, with various reasons given for these.Objective. To describe the change in endoscopic prevalence of duodenal ulcer at Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital (OAUTH), Ile-Ife, Nigeria, between January 2000 and December 2010.Methods. This was a retrospective, descriptive study of patients who underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in the endoscopy unit of OAUTH between January 2000 and December 2010. The data were obtained from the endoscopy register, demographic indices, presenting symptoms and post-endoscopic diagnoses being retrieved for each patient. The study period was divided into the years 2000 - 2004 and 2005 - 2010, the frequencies of duodenal ulcer and other post-endoscopic diagnoses being compared between these two time periods to see whether there were changes.Results. Over the study period, 292 patients (15.8%) were diagnosed with duodenal ulcer, second only to 471 patients (26.2%) with acute gastritis. The prevalence of duodenal ulcer for 2000 - 2004 was 22.9% (n=211 patients) compared with 9.2% (n=81) for 2005 - 2010 (p&lt;0.001).Conclusion. There was a significant decline in the endoscopic prevalence of duodenal ulcer over the decade.

Assessment of School-Meal Nutrient Composition and Anthropometry Measurements of Children in Public Primary Schools Operating School-Feeding Programme in Osun State

Background: The objectives of the study were to evaluate nutrient composition and contribution of the school meals to the children daily nutrient requirementsObjective:Methods: Cross-sectional study was conducted among school-children in Osun State Nigeria. Data on socio-demographic variables, household food security and dietary patterns of the children were collected using questionnaires. Height-for-age and body mass index-for-age z-score of the children were determined. The school-meal samples were evaluated for chemical composition, and percentagecontributions of the school-meal to the daily nutrient requirements of the children were determined.Results: Household food consumption patterns of the children indicated that 83% depend on starchbased foods, while 72.2% depend on legumes as the main source of protein intakes. For the fruits/vegetables, 71% agreed on regular intakes, while others did not. The protein and energy intakes from the school-meal were 27.12 g/day and 594.05 kcal/day, respectively; and these contributed between 79.78 - 142.76% and 33.0 - 49.5% of the children daily nutrient requirements. The prevalence of underweight and stunting in female children (22.6%, 29.4%) were higher than in male counterparts (21.4%, 28.4%).Conclusion: The school-meals contributed positively to the daily protein and energy requirements of the children. However, prevalence of underweight and stunting was noticed among the schoolchildren. Hence, there is a need to improve on the quantity and quality of the school-meals. This finding may be relevant to health and educational policy makers in Nigeria. Keywords: Household food insecurity, School-meal programme, Nutrient composition, Prevalence of malnutrition, School childre

Role of academia in enhancing technology and innovation for a post COVID-19 recovery and growth

The COVID-19 pandemic represents one of the greatest challenges of this century with wide ranging impacts not only on health but practically every sector of the human society. The pandemic stretched our resources and coping capacities to almost breaking points even in wealthy economies and further exposed crucial weaknesses in infrastructure, human resources and emergency preparedness of most nations. This review article explored the role of technology and innovation in post COVID-19 growth and recovery.The academia has facilitated better understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic by increasing the body of knowledge on the disease. Better understanding of the disease informed technology and innovations which has made it possible to end the pandemic lockdown, and chart the course for recovery and growth.Relevant articles from a search of electronic databases were reviewed and the role of academia as well as some of the innovations that opened the pathway for recovery were highlighted.Recovery and growth after the COVID-19 pandemic will require synergistic efforts between the academia and the industry, more like taking the “Gown” to “Town”. Research and development in academia, and industrial technology and innovation are veritable tools for a post COVID-19 recovery

Phytochemical, Scavenging Properties and Glycemic Index of Soy-Enriched Maize-Based Gruel Fortified with Moringa Leaves and Wonderful Kola

In this study, defatted soybean cake, Moringa oleifera leaves and wonderful kola combination were used to raise the nutritional value and scavenging properties of maize-based formulated diets. After blanching and fermentation process, maize (popcorn), moringa leaves, wonderful kola seeds, defatted soybean cake were milled into flour and blended to obtain six samples (R1, R2, B1, B2, F1, F2). Samples were analyzed for antinutrients, phytochemicals, scavenging properties and glycemic index using standard methods. Both processing methods reduced antinutrient levels; particularly for phytic acid. Of the methods used, fermentation is the most effective in increasing the protein content of the formulated diets, it also had the highest scavenging ability and the lowest glycemic index. For DPPH (1,1 diphenyl-2-picryhydrazyl) assay, R1, B1, F1 had high&nbsp; scavenging abilities with F1 having the highest. Albino rats fed with 1 g of sample F1 showed a great decrease in blood glucose level below 5 mmol/l when compared with other samples and reference sample (glucose). This shows the importance of a healthy diet and the effectiveness of Moringa oleifera leaves in the prevention and management of diabetes

Urban-rural differences in immunisation status and associated demographic factors among children 12-59 months in a southwestern state, Nigeria.

Vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs) are a leading course of child under-five mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. A target of 95% immunization coverage is necessary for the sustained control of VPDs. This study aims to determine the immunization status and its associated demo-graphic factors among children 12-59 months old in Akinyele Local Government area (LGA), Oyo State, Nigeria. A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out in one urban and one rural ward of Akinyele LGA. Fourhundred and forty-four (449) Under-five children were selected by multistage sampling technique. Data were collected from caregivers using interviewer administered questionnaires. Odds ratios at 95% CIand Chi square at 5% significant level were computed to identify the factors associated with non or partial immunisation. Multiple logistics regression at 5% significance level was done to determine the socio-demographic determinants of immunisation status. Overall, 449 children aged 12-59 months were surveyed of which 213(47.4%) were males and 236(52.6%) were from urban area. Overall, 365(81.3%) was fully immunized, 75(16.7%) was partially immunized and 9(2.0%) had never been immunized. Predictors of a child being partially or un-immunised were being in the fourth wealth quintile (AOR 7.9; 95%CI: 2.7-18.0), poorest wealth quintile (AOR 14.5; 95%CI 4.2-20.5), having a mother with no education (AOR 6.4; 95%CI: 2.9-14.1) and a mother that practiced Islam (AOR: 2.2; 95%CI: 1.3-3.7). Immunisation coverage was somewhat high but still suboptimal among the study population. Strategies that improve female literacy and those that target religious institutions may be effective in improving immunisation uptake