Predictive factors for primary amputation in trauma patients in a Nigerian university teaching hospital

No Abstract.The East African Medical Journal Vol. 83 (10) 2006: pp. 539-54

Factors influencing the outcome of elective paediatric orthopaedic operations in Ile-Ife, Nigeria

There is a paucity of published data on the types of paediatric orthopaedic conditions that require surgery and factors infl uencing their outcome in most parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. This is a necessary audit to improve paediatric orthopaedic practice. We carried out an audit of all elective orthopaedic operations performed in children at Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex in Ile-Ife, Nigeria from January 2000 through December 2005. The aim was to document the clinical outcomes and the factors that infl uence them. This is with a view to instituting necessary measures to improve paediatric orthopaedic practice in the area. A total of 146 children who had elective operations on 210 limbs were included in the study. Their mean age was 75.6±66.8 months (range 0.3-396 months). The commonest indications for surgery were angular knee deformities (from Blount\'s disease and rickets) and club foot. The mean hospital stay before surgery was 12±8.8 days (range 1-38days). The mean duration of operation was 78.4±36min. (range 30-195 min). The total length of hospitalization was 34.97±19.91 days in males and 41.97±25.15 days in females. Wound infection was the commonest postoperative complication (8.2%). The patient\'s age (P=0.002), indication for surgery (P=0.008), length of preoperative hospital stay (P=0.048), length of operation (

Assessment of Kara Abattoir Effluent on the Water Quality of Ogun River, Nigeria

Direct discharge of abattoir effluents into water bodies contributes to problem of water pollution. This study assessed the impact of Kara Abattoir effluents on Ogun River in Nigeria using standard methods to measure the physiological characteristics and heavy metal levels. The results made it evident that most of the chemical parameters in this study exceeded the accepted standards; phosphate was seen to range between 0.34-109mg/l with a mean value of 27.62mg/l. All the twelve heavy metals observed in the water samples were within acceptable limits. The most alarming result observed is the presence of a “too many to count” range of microbial load and faecal coliform which can be attributable to a major cause of diarrhoea, urinary tract infections, respiratory illness and other threat to human health. Ogun River serves as habitat to some organisms; and is also used for domestic activities by nearby communities; hence, urgent policy implementation is required.Keywords: Abattoir, Effluents, Ogun River, Pollutio

The association of leadership styles and empowerment with nurses' organizational commitment in an acute health care setting: A cross-sectional study

Background: The current challenges facing healthcare systems, in relation to the shortage of health professionals, necessitates mangers and leaders to learn from different leadership styles and staff empowerment strategies, so as to create a work environment that encourages nursing staff commitment to patients and their organization. This study intends to measure the effects of nurses' overall perception of the leadership style of their managers, and psychological empowerment on their organizational commitment in acute care units, in National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia. Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey, where the data was obtained from nurses at King Abdulaziz Medical City. Hard copy questionnaires were distributed to 350 randomly selected nurses. Three hundred and thirty two (332) were completed, representing a response rate of 95 %. Three validated survey instruments were used to obtain the data: (1) The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ), formulated by Bass and Avolio (1997), (2) The Psychological Empowerment Scale developed by Spreitzer (1995) and (3) The Three-Component Model of Employee Commitment developed by Meyer and Allen (1997). A theoretical model that conceptually links leadership, empowerment, and organizational commitment was used. The SPSS program version 19 was employed to perform descriptive and inferential statistics including correlation and stepwise multiple regression analysis. Results: Overall most nurses perceived their immediate nursing managers as not displaying the ideal level of transformational leadership (TFL) behaviors. Nurses' commitment appeared to be negatively correlated with TFL style and perceived psychological empowerment. However, commitment was positively correlated with the Transactional Leadership (TAL) style. Analysis, also, showed that commitment is significantly associated with the nurse's nationality by region: North American (P = 0.001) and Arab (p = 0.027). The other important predictors of commitment include TAL (P = 0.027), Laissez-faire Leadership (LFL (P = 0.012), and autonomy (P = 0.016). The linear combination of these predictors explained 20 % of the variability of the nurses' commitment. Conclusion: The study findings suggest that leadership styles and employee empowerment could play an instrumental role in promoting organizational commitment of nurses working in acute health care settings, at least in the Saudi Arabian context

A new chemical form of essential oil of Hyssopus officinalis L. (Lamiaceae) from Nigeria

Essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation from the air-dried leaves of Hyssopus officinalis L. (Lamiaceae) collected in Ajangbadi area, West of Lagos, Nigeria, was analyzed comprehensively for its constituents by means of gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The monoterpene hydrocarbons, á-pinene (70.9%) and â-pinene (10.9%) are the dominant constituents of the oil of H. officinalis. A cluster analysis was performed for comparison and characterization of H. officinalis essential oil from Nigeria with other oils reported in the literature from different locations across the world, and reveals chemical variation in this species with at least 8 different chemotypes. The compositional pattern of Nigerian oil sample was being reported for the first time and represents another chemotype of the oil of H. officinalis

Prevalence of stress and its associated factors among medical students in Sabah Malaysia Borneo

Stress is accepted as the accumulation of unpleasant state of physical, mental and emotion on a person. Medical education has been known as one of the most stressful academic curriculum. Hence, medical students may subjected to multiple psychological changes and challenges throughout the years of medical education. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of stress and its associated factors among medical students. This cross sectional study was conducted from April to May 2018 in medical school in Sabah. It involved 396 medical students through universal sampling. Self-administered questionnaires were used as an instrument for data collection. The questionnaires included were Sociodemographic Questionnaire, Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales 21 (DASS-21) and Medical Student Stressors Questionnaire (MSSQ). Bivariate analysis (Chi Square test, Fisher’s Exact Test, Independent T test and Man-Whitney U test) were used to analyse the association. The response rate was 90.2%. The prevalence of stress among medical students were 33.3%. Significant associated factors include financial support inadequacy (p=0.010) and all categories of medical student stressors. The mean score of the academic related stressors was found to be at 2.117 (±0.758) which was the highest mean score among medical student stressors assessed by MSSQ. The result of this study can be used as a basis for implementation of preventive measures such as provision of comprehensive, integrated and responsive mental health care services in university-based settings

Prevalence of Cysticercus tenuicollis cysts in sheep slaughtered at Sokoto abattoir, Sokoto state, Nigeria

A prospective study was conducted based on the principle of post mortem examination on sheep slaughtered at Sokoto abattoir for the presence of Cysticercus tenuicollis cysts. A total of 261 sheep were examined with 34 (13.03%) infected. Prevalence of infection increased with the age of the  animals. Males had relatively higher prevalence than females. Infection was recorded in several visceral organs with omentum having the highest  prevalence (35.29%) and the lungs the least(11.76%). The results suggest that C. tenuicollis is common and may constitute a health problem in sheep and a source of economic loss in the meat industry, thus emphasizing the need for proper meat inspection and handling of offals in the study area

Quality of Type 2 Diabetes Management in the States of The Co-Operation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf: A Systematic Review

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a growing, worldwide public health concern. Recent growth has been particularly dramatic in the states of The Co-operation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), and these and other developing economies are at particular risk. We aimed to systematically review the quality of control of type 2 diabetes in the GCC, and the nature and efficacy of interventions. We identified 27 published studies for review. Studies were identified by systematic database searches. Medline and Embase were searched separately (via Dialog and Ovid, respectively; 1950 to July 2010 (Medline), and 1947 to July 2010 (Embase)) on 15/07/2009. The search was updated on 08/07/2010. Terms such as diabetes mellitus, non-insulin-dependent, hyperglycemia, hypertension, hyperlipidemia and Gulf States were used. Our search also included scanning reference lists, contacting experts and hand-searching key journals. Studies were judged against pre-determined inclusion/exclusion criteria, and where suitable for inclusion, data extraction/quality assessment was achieved using a specifically-designed tool. All studies wherein glycaemic-, blood pressure- and/or lipid- control were investigated (clinical and/or process outcomes) were eligible for inclusion. No limitations on publication type, publication status, study design or language of publication were imposed. We found the extent of control to be sub-optimal and relatively poor. Assessment of the efficacy of interventions was difficult due to lack of data, but suggestive that more widespread and controlled trial of secondary prevention strategies may have beneficial outcomes. We found no record of audited implementation of primary preventative strategies and anticipate that controlled trial of such strategies would also be useful

A telephone survey of cancer awareness among frontline staff: informing training needs

Background: Studies have shown limited awareness about cancer risk factors among hospital-based staff. Less is known about general cancer awareness among community frontline National Health Service and social care staff. Methods: A cross-sectional computer-assisted telephone survey of 4664 frontline community-based health and social care staff in North West England. Results: A total of 671 out of 4664 (14.4%) potentially eligible subjects agreed to take part. Over 92% of staff recognised most warning signs, except an unexplained pain (88.8%, n=596), cough or hoarseness (86.9%, n=583) and a sore that does not heal (77.3%, n=519). The bowel cancer-screening programme was recognised by 61.8% (n=415) of staff. Most staff agreed that smoking and passive smoking ‘increased the chance of getting cancer.’ Fewer agreed about getting sunburnt more than once as a child (78.0%, n=523), being overweight (73.5%, n=493), drinking more than one unit of alcohol per day (50.2%, n=337) or doing less than 30 min of moderate physical exercise five times a week (41.1%, n=276). Conclusion: Cancer awareness is generally good among frontline staff, but important gaps exist, which might be improved by targeted education and training and through developing clearer messages about cancer risk factors

Honey as a complementary medicine

The beneficial effects of honey on human health have long been recognized. Today, many of those positive effects have been studied to elucidate its mode of action. This review briefly summarizes the best studied features of honey, highlighting it as an appealing alternative medicine. In these reports, the health benefits of honey range from antioxidant, immunomodulatory, and anti-inflammatory activity to anticancer action, metabolic and cardiovascular benefits, prebiotic properties, human pathogen control, and antiviral activity. These studies also support that the honey's biological activity is mainly dependent on its floral or geographic origin. In addition, some promising synergies between honey and antibiotics have been found, as well as some antiviral properties that require further investigation. Altogether, these studies show that honey is effectively a nutraceutical foodstuff.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio