Prevalence of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in Zaria

No Abstract

Relationships between blood lead, blood pressure, serum cholesterol and body mass index of non-occupationally exposed males, residents of Abeokuta, Nigeria

Study examined the associations between blood – Pb, serum cholesterol, diastolic and, systolic blood pressures, hematocrit, body weight, age and body mass index in 528 study subjects comprising 50% cigarette smoking and 50% non-smoking male residents of Abeokuta, Nigeria, aged from 15 to 80 years. Blood Pb was measured using atomic absorption spectrophotometer and the other variables were determined using standard procedures. Generally, interwoven relationships between all the parameters were established. Cigarette smoking appeared to be an additional source of Pb intake as the mean value for smokers (42 ± 12 μg/dl) exceeded that for non-smokers (34 ± 11 μg/dl) by approximately 24%. Blood Pb related positively to systolic blood pressure of non-smokers (r = + 0.138) and diastolic blood pressure for smokers (r = + 0.129) at

Attitude To Caesarean Section Amongst Antenatal Clients In Ibadan, Nigeria

This was a cross-sectional study carried out on 372 clients receiving antenatal care at a rural, suburban and urban centres, in order to assess the acceptance of caesarean delivery amongst them and thefactors influencing their attitude. Caesarean section was acceptable to 65.7%. Many respondents will refuse the surgery, because they do not think abdominal delivery is natural or necessary. However, if indicatedby their health caregiver to be necessary to save life, 78.3% would comply. Others would leave for a religious healing home, another hospital, a traditional birth attendant or be delivered at home. The culturalreasons why some women decline include feeling that caesarean delivery is due to “spiritual attacks”, retribution for maternal infidelity and failure of awoman to fulfil her reproductive function. Respondents were more likely to accept the surgery if they had heard of it before or had a previous caesarean delivery. They were less likely to accept it if they wereChristians or attended the rural health centre. Age, parity and educational level had no influence. Only 4% of the respondents would request a caesarean section for non-medical reasons. Health education needs to becarried out in the community, as well as during antenatal classes, to address the cultural beliefs. Means of involving religious bodies in enlightenment campaigns to improve women's attitude should beexplored

Hospital-based incidence of maternal heart failure during pregnancy in Nigeria

Patience Olayinka Akinwusi,1,2 Adetunji Oladeni Adeniji,3 Oluseyi Olaboyede Atanda,3 Adebayo Duyile Adekunle3 1Department of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Osun State University, 2Department of Medicine, 3Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, Nigeria Purpose: To determine the incidence of heart failure during pregnancy and incriminated cardiac lesions, as well as maternal and fetal outcomes in Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital (LTH), Osogbo, Southwest Nigeria. Methods: This study was a retrospective, descriptive review of all cases of heart failure during pregnancy based on data retrieved from the medical records of LTH over a 7-year period from January 2004 to December 2010. Analysis of these data was carried out using SPSS 17. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Ethical Committee of LTH. Results: A total of 4523 patients delivered babies over the 7-year period, ten (2.2/1000) of which had cardiac decompensation. All patients were not registered at LTH for antenatal care (unbooked), with 70% of them aged 18–24 years. Fifty percent were primigravidae and the majority of them presented with symptoms in the second and third trimester. There were two cases of maternal deaths recorded and three cases of fetal/perinatal mortality. Only one case of congenital heart disease (pulmonary stenosis) and no cases of rheumatic heart disease were found. Conclusion: The data suggests that heart failure during pregnancy is uncommon in Southwest Nigeria. However, it occurs more often in young, unbooked primigravid women. Efforts should be aimed at encouraging early booking for antenatal care and a full cardiovascular evaluation to prevent associated maternal and fetal/perinatal morbidity and mortality. Keywords: heart failure, pregnancy, cardiac disease, fetal outcome, maternal outcom

The spatio-temporal epidemic dynamics of COVID-19 outbreak in Africa.

Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was first detected in the city of Wuhan, China in December 2019. Although, the disease appeared in Africa later than other regions, it has now spread to virtually all countries on the continent. We provide early spatio-temporal dynamics of COVID-19 within the first 62 days of the disease's appearance on the African continent. We used a two-parameter hurdle Poisson model to simultaneously analyse the zero counts and the frequency of occurrence. We investigate the effects of important healthcare capacities including hospital beds and number of medical doctors in different countries. The results show that cases of the pandemic vary geographically across Africa with notably high incidence in neighbouring countries particularly in West and North Africa. The burden of the disease (per 100 000) mostly impacted Djibouti, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria. Temporally, during the first 4 weeks, the burden was highest in Senegal, Egypt and Mauritania, but by mid-April it shifted to Somalia, Chad, Guinea, Tanzania, Gabon, Sudan and Zimbabwe. Currently, Namibia, Angola, South Sudan, Burundi and Uganda have the least burden. These findings could be useful in guiding epidemiological interventions and the allocation of scarce resources based on heterogeneity of the disease patterns