The Role Of Interventional Radiology In Modern Medical Practice

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Prevalence and Correlates of Missed First Appointments among Outpatients at a Psychiatric Hospital in Nigeria

Background: Missed appointments are common in psychiatric practice. It compromises quality of care, results in poor treatment outcomes and drains financial resources. In Nigeria, where mental health services are poorly organized, missed appointments and its resultant consequences may be burdensome.Aim: This study sought to determine the prevalence and factors (sociodemographic and clinical) associated with missed clinic appointments at a regional psychiatric hospital. Subjects and Methods: A study on a cohort of patients attending the Outpatient Clinics for the first time between June and September 2011 was conducted. We interviewed each participant at their first presentation then tracked through case records to determine adherence to scheduled first clinic appointments after 4 weeks. A questionnaire was used in eliciting sociodemographic characteristics, clinical variables, and patient/caregiversatisfaction with treatment. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data and inferential statistics to test associations using the SPSS 16. Results: Three hundred and ten patients were recruited over the study period. The prevalence of missed first appointment was 32.6% (101/310). Participants who were single (P = 0.04), living alone (P < 0.01) or aggressive (P < 0.01) were more likely to miss their first appointment. However, having received previous treatment for a psychiatric illness (P = 0.02) and having comorbidity (P = 0.05) was associated with less likelihood to miss a first appointment. A binary logistic regression analysis showed that having received previous treatment independently predicted a less likelihood to miss first appointment (P = 0.03). Conclusion: Quite a proportion (32.6%) of patients attending outpatient clinics miss scheduled clinic appointments. Receiving previous psychiatriccare predicted adherence to scheduled appointment.Keywords: Missed appointments, Nigeria, Patients, Psychiatr

Comparative sonographic evaluation of the anteroposterior dimensions of the pancreas in diabetics and nondiabetics

Background: The pancreas is an insulin‑producing gland and is prone to varying degrees of destruction and change in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). Various morphological changes including reduction in the pancreas dimensions have been described in DM.Objectives: To determine pancreatic anteroposterior (AP) dimensions in diabetics by sonography and compare with nondiabetics. To also evaluate the correlation of the AP dimensions with patient’s anthropometry, as well as the duration of the disease in comparison with nondiabetics.Materials and Methods: This is a comparative cross‑sectional study involving 150 diabetics with 150 sex and age matched healthy normoglycemic group used as controls. Sonographic measurements of the AP dimensions of the pancreatic head, body, and tail of both study groups were performed with the use of 3.5 MHz curvilinear array transducer of a SonoAce X4 ultrasound machine. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 17 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). A statistical test was considered significant at P ≤ 0.05 and 95% confidence interval.Results: Pancreas AP dimensions were significantly smaller in diabetics compared to those of the controls. The mean dimensions were 1.91 ± 0.26 cm, 0.95 ± 0.12 cm, and 0.91 ± 0.11 cm for the head, body, and tail, respectively, in diabetics and 2.32 ± 0.22 cm, 1.43 ± 0.19 cm, and 1.34 ± 0.20 cm in the control (P < 0.001 in all cases). The dimensions were also significantly smaller in the Type 1 diabetics compared to Type 2 (P < 0.001 in all cases). The mean duration of illness for the Types 1 and 2 diabetics were 3.09 ± 1.38 and 3.78 ± 3.12 years, respectively. Longer duration of illness was associated with smaller pancreas body and tail dimensions, while pancreas head dimension was not significantly affected by the duration of illness.Conclusion: Diabetics have smaller pancreas AP dimensions compared to the normal population.Key words: Diabetes mellitus, dimension, pancreas, sonograph

Neuroimaging in Psychiatry: A Review of the Background and Current Trends

This paper offers a selective literature review of neuroimaging in psychiatry, with the goal of offering a background and a summary of current trends. While not exhaustive, numerous publications are cited in an attempt to provide a reasonable cross-section of research activity in the field of brain imaging in psychiatry and  how to overcome the challenges in our setting. There are two different types of neuroimaging of value in  clinical psychiatry, namely: structural neuroimaging  techniques (e.g., CT, MRI) which provide static images of the skull, and brain, and funnctional neuroimaging techniques (e.g., single photon emission CT [SPECT],  positron emission tomography [PET], functional MRI [fMRI], electroencephalography [EEG],   magnetoencephalography [MEG]) which provide measures that are  directly (MEG, EEG) or indirectly (SPECT, PET, fMRI) related to brain activity. Although neuroimaging is making increasing contributions to mul t iple aspects of clinical psychiatry, including differential diagnosis, prognosis, clinical management, and   development of new interventions, it still remains largely a research tool and is of limited use in clinical psychiatry

Ultrasound Measurement of Fetal Kidney Length in Normal Pregnancy and Correlation with Gestational Age

Background: Belated booking for antenatal care remains a common practice among pregnant women in developing countries. Many of the existing conventional ultrasonographic indices used for assessing gestational age (GA) become increasingly unreliable beyond the 2nd trimester. Materials and Methods: A prospective cross‑sectional study of booked healthy pregnant women with regular menstrual cycles and certain last menstrual period (LMP) were examined using ultrasound over a 6‑month period. Fetal kidney length (FKL) was measured, beginning from 20 to 41 weeks of gestation. Results: A total of 400 pregnant women were examined. The mean left FKL was slightly but significantly higher than the mean right FKL across the various weeks of gestation (P < 0.05). The mean combined FKL (MKL) was 32.18 ± 5.96 mm, with a reference range of 20.87 ± 0.75 mm to 41.41 ± 0.07 mm from 20 to 41 weeks of gestation. There was strongly positive significant correlation between MKL in millimeters and GA by the LMP in weeks (r = 0.997, P = 0.000). The standard error of prediction (SE) of GA was least for MKL (±7.17 days), followed by femur length (FL) (±8.38 days), head circumference (HC) (±9.02 days), abdominal circumference (AC) (±9.14 days), and biparietal diameter (BPD) (±10.36 days). The best multiple regression model for predicting GA included the five variables such as MKL, FL, BPD, HC, and AC, with a SE of prediction of (±6.31 days). Conclusion: FKL can serve as an additional reliable parameter for accurate dating of GA during obstetric scan.Keywords: Fetal kidney length, gestational age, pregnant women, ultrasoun

Sonographic Dimensions of the Spleen in Healthy School Age Children in a South- South Nigerian Population

The spleen is the largest recticuloendothelial organ in the body which increases in size with several pathologies. Its average length and other dimensions have been documented in adults but none in children in our environment. This study is aimed at investigating with Ultrasonography the normal splenic dimensions in healthy school age children and to ascertain any relationship with somatometric parameters. The study comprised of 200 children (94 males and 106 females) aged between 5-16 years, selected from primary and secondary schools in Benin City, Edo State. None had any features suggestive of splenic pathology and haemoglobinopathy was excluded. Their weight, and height were measured and body mass index (BMI) calculated. The splenic dimensions were measured using Sonoace X4 ultrasound machine (Medison, Korea, 2009) having a curvilinear probe with frequency of 3.5-5.0MHz. The data were analysed using SPSS version 16.0 (IBM, Chicago, ill, 2008) and test of significance was done with differences considered significant at P<0.05. There were 94 males with a mean age of 10.26 ± 3.57 years and 106 females with a mean age of 10.14 ± 3.46 years. Mean splenic length and volume for males were 8.71 ± 1.39cm, and 152.11 ± 80.07 cm3 respectively. The corresponding values of mean splenic length and volume for females were 8.48 ± 1.43 cm and 145.42 ± 69.53 cm3 respectively. The difference in mean splenic dimensions for both sexes was not statistically significant. Splenic length correlated positively with age (r=0.76), height (r=0.76), weight (r=0.77), and BMI (r= 0.57). There was positive correlation between splenic length and somatometric parameter as well as age in the study population.Keywords: spleen, healthy, school age children, ultrasoun

Tuberous sclerosis in a young Nigerian male: a case report and review of the literature

No Abstract. Discovery and Innovation Vol. 17(3&4) 2005: 122-12

Knowledge of Ultrasound Safety in Pregnancy among radiologists and other Health Workers in Nigeria.

No Abstract