Postoperative nausea and vomiting in korle bu teaching hospital

Objective: Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is one of the most distressing morbidities associated with surgery. Even though the incidence can be as high as 30% elsewhere no work has been done to assess the incidence in any health facility in Ghana. This studywas carried out to find out the incidence, risk factors and the management of PONV in a tertiary healthcare facility. Design: This was a prospective study. Setting: The study was carried out in Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH). Subjects and Methods: All patients above the age of 18 years who had surgery including general surgerywere included in the study. Information obtained using a questionnaire included demographic data, the type of anaesthesia, the incidence of PONV and its management. Results: Three hundred and six (306) completed forms out of 322 questionnaires were analyzed. One hundredand six patients (34%) had episodes of PONV of whom 82 (77.4%) had intra-operative opioids. Of the other factors only age was found to be a risk factor with patients in the 20-49 age group constituting 71.8% (p=0.007). Eleven out of 93 patients who reported the episodeto a health worker received medication for their PONV. Drugs used included promethazine and antimalaria. Conclusions: Thirty-four percent of patients in the study had PONV indicating that the problem is not uncommon among post-surgical patients in KBTH.Awareness of the problem should be highlighted and adequate management should be given to all patients. Patients at risk should be identified and appropriate management instituted

ALTERNATIVES FOR SMALL FARM SURVIVAL: GOVERNMENT POLICIES VERSUS THE FREE MARKET

This paper briefly outlines a topology of small farms and then considers the role of the government versus the market in key public policies such as commodity income support, environment, stability, research, and rural development. A number of options are explored for public policy to better serve small farms, including drastic alternatives such as graduated property taxes on farmland, with exemptions or lower rates for small farms. These and other alternatives are not necessarily recommended. Improved extension education and human resource development offer some of the most promising public policy opportunities to help small farmers.Government, Limited resource, Market, Programs, Research, Rural, Scale, Small farm, Farm Management,

Bony injuries in trauma patients diagnosed by radiological examination

Objective: This study was carried out to determine the incidence of bony injuries in trauma patients who had plain radiographs done at the Central Regional Hospital in Cape Coast.Design: This is a retrospective study based on plain radiographs taken by trauma patients who reported to the Central Regional Hospital.Method: The case notes of all patients with a discharge diagnosis of Road Traffic Accident or trauma of all aetiologies that presented to the hospital between January 2005 and December 2011 were retrieved, and those patients that had skeletal radiographic examinations were included in this study.Results: The total number of cases seen was 1,133. The ages of the patients ranged between 1 and 72 years. Sixty-nine (6.1%) of the patients were between 1 and 4 years old, with the majority between 20 and 49 years old, constituting 52.3%, with patients 60 years and above at 9.2%. There was statistically significant difference between male and female patients (p=0.001). A total of 912 (80.5%) patients had radiographic examination done out of which only 324 (35.5%) radiographs could be retrieved. There were 106 (32.7%) radiographs with various bony injuries which was statistically significant (p=0.001). Rib fractures represented 19/106 (17.9%) of which 62.5% had multiple rib fractures. Fifty-eight (54.7%) had long bone fractures. Other anatomical sites included the pelvis and the skull.Conclusion: Trauma is a major public health problem in the country, involving mainly the productive age group. Unnecessary exposure to X-rays is common. Inadequate management of trauma patients negatively impacts on the outcome of trauma patients. Trauma prevention is the best way forward.Keywords: trauma, road traffic accident, bony injuries, radiological investigation

Options for Improving rural poultry and pig production

United States Agency for International Developmen

Internet Phishing and Current Trend Ghana

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Origin and phylogenetic status of the local Ashanti Dwarf pig (ADP) of Ghana based on genetic analysis.

BACKGROUND: The Ashanti Dwarf Pig (ADP) of Ghana is an endangered pig breed with hardy and disease resistant traits. Characterisation of animal genetic resources provides relevant data for their conservation and sustainable use for food security and economic development. We investigated the origin and phylogenetic status of the local ADP of Ghana and their crosses with modern commercial breeds based on mtDNA, MC1R, Y-chromosome sequence polymorphisms, and genome-wide SNP genotyping. RESULTS: The study involved 164 local pigs sampled from the three agro-ecological zones of Ghana. Analyses of the mitochondrial D-loop region and Y-chromosome sequences revealed both European and Asian genetic signatures, with differences between the geographical zones. Black coat colour is the most predominant within the breed, with black MC1R alleles of both Asian and European origin. European alleles for spotting are present at a low frequency in the sample set, and may account for the occurrence of spotted piglets in some APD litters. PCA analysis of SNP data revealed a strong location and breed effect on clustering of local Ghanaian pigs. On a global level, Ghanaian local pigs cluster closely with European pigs of commercial origin, but we identified intervals via FST analyses that may elucidate loci for ADP specific traits. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of both European and Asian contributions, with differences between geographical zones probably reflects trading and colonial influences. Understanding the effects of admixture on important adaptive and economic traits of the ADP and other local breeds in Africa is critical for developing sustainable conservation programmes to prevent the decline of these genetic resources.The authors are grateful to Cambridge in Africa Research Excellence (CAPREx) for the award of Post-doctoral Fellowship to ROA, and the Alborada Trust for supporting the Research. G.L is supported by the European Research Council (337574-UNDEAD), and BMS is supported by BBSRC grant number BB/N000129/1. CAS is funded by the Department of Pathology and Hughes Hall, Cambridge

Adapted motivational interviewing to improve the uptake of treatment for glaucoma in Nigeria: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Glaucoma is a chronic eye disease associated with irreversible visual loss. In Africa, glaucoma patients often present late, with very advanced disease. One-off procedures, such as laser or surgery, are recommended in Africa because of lack of or poor adherence to medical treatment. However, acceptance of surgery is usually extremely low. To prevent blindness, adherence to treatment needs to improve, using acceptable, replicable and cost-effective interventions. After reviewing the literature and interviewing patients in Bauchi (Nigeria) motivational interviewing (MI) was selected as the intervention for this trial, with adaptation for glaucoma (MIG). MI is designed to strengthen personal motivation for, and commitment to a specific goal by eliciting and exploring a person's reasons for change within an atmosphere of acceptance and compassion. The aim of this study is to assess whether MIG increases the uptake of laser or surgery amongst glaucoma patients where this is the recommended treatment. The hypothesis is that MIG increases the uptake of treatment. This will be the first trial of MI in Africa. METHODS: This is a hospital based, single centre, randomized controlled trial of MIG plus an information sheet on glaucoma and its treatment (the latter being "standard care") compared with standard care alone for glaucoma patients where the treatment recommended is surgery or laser.Those eligible for the trial are adults aged 17 years and above who live within 200 km of Bauchi with advanced glaucoma where the examining ophthalmologist recommends surgery or laser. After obtaining written informed consent, participants will be randomly allocated to MIG plus standard care, or standard care alone. Motivational interviewing will be delivered in Hausa or English by one of two MIG trained personnel. One hundred and fifty participants will be recruited to each arm. The primary outcome is the proportion of participants undergoing laser or surgery within two months of the date given to re attend for the procedure. MIG quality will be assessed using the validated MI treatment integrity scale. DISCUSSION: Motivational interviewing may be an important tool to increase the acceptance of treatment for glaucoma. The approach is potentially scalable and may be useful for other chronic conditions in Africa. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN79330571 (Controlled-Trials.com)

Social workers’ migration to the United Kingdom: Comparing social networks, job and life satisfaction post-migration

Copyright © The Author(s) 2023. This study explores if and how migrating social workers’ gender, country of origin and time living in the United Kingdom relate to their job and life satisfaction, and to building a new social network post-migration. Online questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were carried out with participants from Australia, Canada, India, Romania, South Africa, the United States and Zimbabwe. We found a statistically significant connection between the length of time in the United Kingdom and satisfaction from working as social workers and living in the United Kingdom. All our participating groups were generally only mildly satisfied professionally, but satisfied with living in the United Kingdom.The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article