Asymptomatic urinary tract infection among pregnant women receiving ante-natal care in a traditional birth home in Benin city, Nigeria

Background: A good proportion of pregnant women patronize traditional birth homes in Nigeria for ante-natal care. This study aimed at determining the prevalence, risk factors, and susceptibility profile of etiologic agents of urinary tract infection among ante-natal attendees in a traditional birth home in Benin City, Nigeria.Methods: Clean-catch urine was collected from 220 pregnant women attending a traditional birth home in Benin City, Nigeria. Urine samples were processed, and microbial isolates identified using standard bacteriological procedures. A cross-sectional study design was used.Results: The prevalence of urinary tract infection among pregnant women was 55.0%, significantly affected by parity and gestational age (P<0.05). Mixed infection was recorded among 13(10.7%) pregnant women, and was unaffected by maternal age, parity, gravidity, gestational age, and educational status. Irrespective of trimester Escherichia coli was the most prevalent etiologic agent of urinary tract infection, followed by Staphylococcus aureus. The flouroquinolones were the most effective antibacterial agents, while Sulphamethoxazole-trimetoprim, Amoxicillin, Nalidixic acid, and Nitrofurantoin had poor activity against uropathogens isolated.Conclusion: The prevalence of urinary tract infection among pregnant women was 55.0% and significantly affected by gestational age and parity. The most prevalent etiologic agent observed was Escherichia coli. With the exception of the flouroquinolones, aminoglycoside, and Amoxicillin-cluvanate, the activity of other antibiotics used on uropathogens were poor. Health education of the traditional birth attendant and her clients by relevant intervention agencies is strongly advocated.Keywords: Urinary tract infection, pregnancy, orthodox birth center, traditional birth center, Nigeri

Awareness and Knowledge of Ergonomics Among Medical Laboratory Scientists in Nigeria

Background: Ergonomics awareness helps in its right application and contributes significantly to general wellbeing and safety of worker at workplace. Aim: This cross‑sectional descriptive study aimed at assessing the level of awareness and knowledge of the science of ergonomics among Medical Laboratory Scientists in Benin City, Nigeria. Subjects and Methods: A total of 106 medical laboratory scientists comprising 64 and 42 in public and private laboratories, respectively, were recruited for this study using systematic random sampling technique. Data were obtained from the study participants using a questionnaire and subsequently analyzed with the statistical software INSTAT®. Results: Out of 106 study participants, 27 (25.5%) were reported to have heard of the term ergonomics. Awareness was significantly associated with gender (male vs. female: 38.5% [15/39] vs. 17.9% [12/67]; odds ratio = 2.9; 95% confidence interval = 1.2, 7.1;P = 0.02). Awareness of ergonomics was not significantly affected by affiliation (P = 0.18), area of specialization (P = 0.78), post‑qualification experience (P = 0.43), and educational qualification (P = 0.23) of the study participants. Irrespective of the affiliation of the participant, only 6 of 27 (22.2%) participants who were aware of ergonomics knew at least a benefit of right application of ergonomics in the laboratory. Knowledge of risk factors for the development of musculoskeletal disorders was reported by 8 of 27 (29.6%) persons who claimed to be aware of ergonomics. Conclusions: Awareness of ergonomics and knowledge of gains of its right application was poor among the study participants. Regular ergonomic education of medical laboratory scientists in Nigeria is advocated.Keywords: Ergonomics, Medical laboratory scientist, Musculoskeletal disorders, Nigeri

A 5 - year surveillance of wound infections at a rural tertiary hospital in Nigeria

Background: Wound infections are associated with increased morbidity and mortality.Objectives: To determine the prevalence, aetiology and susceptibility profile of bacterial agents of wound infection among in- and- out patients at a rural tertiary hospital in Nigeria, within a 5 year period.Methods: Wound swabs collected from 156 out-patients and 353  in-patients were, cultured and microbial isolates identified using standard methods. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was done on bacterial isolates.Results: The prevalence of wound infection in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 was 71.4%, 76.2%, 74.5%, 61.5%, and 67.0% respectively. The overall prevalence of wound infection was 70.1%. In all the years studied, out-patients had a higher prevalence of wound infection, but this was  significant in 2007, 2009, and 2010 only. Staphylococcus aureus was the most prevalent pathogen in both in- and out - patients with the exception of 2009 where both Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa had the same prevalence (24.4%) among in - patients. The  flouroquinolones were the most potent antimicrobial agents against bacterial isolates from both in – and out –patients.Conclusions: Staphylococcus aureus was the most predominant etiologic agent of wound infection among in and out patients. A generally higher resistance pattern was observed among nosocomial bacterial pathogens. Prudent use of antibiotics is recommended.Keywords: prevalence, wound infection, antibiotic resistances, rural community, Nigeri

Continuous professional training of medical laboratory scientists in Benin City, Nigeria

Background. Training and re-training of healthcare workers is pivotal to improved service delivery.Objective. To determine the proportion of practising medical laboratory scientists with in-service training in Benin City, Nigeria and areas coveredby these programmes.Methods. Medical laboratory scientists from Benin City (N=127) (public (n=79) and private (n=48) sectors) were recruited for this study. A detailedquestionnaire was used to obtain relevant information from all enlisted participants.Results. Eighty-four (66.1%) of all medical laboratory scientist volunteers (N=127) reported to have attended an in-service training programme.This was significantly associated with gender (male v. female: 80.9% v. 58.8%; odds ratio (OR) 6.071; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.510 - 14.685; p<0.0001). Only 9/84 (10.7%) participants reported to have had at least one in-service training session during the last 12 months.  Attendance was significantly affected by qualification (p=0.029), area of specialisation (p=0.003) and affiliation (p=0.005). Irrespective of  affiliation, self-sponsorship of in-service training programmes was most frequently reported by study participants. Training received by respondents was mainly in instrumentation and diagnostic techniques.Conclusion. Attendance of in-service training programmes during the last 12 months was poor. Training programmes were mostly funded by participants. Regular training of medical laboratory scientists by the relevant authorities and agencies is advocated

Effectiveness Of Different House-Hold Hand Washing Agents On Hand Flora

Hand hygiene is a very important procedure in infection control. Washing agents commonly in use were investigated for their effectiveness in reducing hand floral and cotton towel was used as drying agent. Agents studied include; water alone, carex soap, dettol, and imperial leather. The hands were inoculated (deliberate contamination) with nasal swab and glove put on to allow inoculums to be established. The test hand was washed with the selected washing agent and dried with cloth towel three times while the other hand serving as the reference (and control) remained gloved. Glove was later removed from the other hand and both hands (un-gloved) were inoculated on nutrient agar plates and incubated for 24 hours at 370C. The colony forming units were counted for both treated (washed and dried) and untreated hands and percentage reduction was calculated. The procedure was repeated three times and average result with standard deviation presented for each washing agent. All the hand washing agents showed significant difference between treated and untreated hands (P ‹ 0.05). Imperial leather gave the highest reduction of 87.76%, followed by carex 71.05% then Dettol with 53.58%. Water gave the average lowest in colony forming unit reduction of 15.08%. The study concluded that washing hand with any of the house-hold soap washing agents is more effective as hand hygiene than water alone but Imperial leather showed the highest reduction in hand flora with cloth towel as drying agent.Keyword: hand washing, hand flora, cloth towelThe Tropical Journal of Health Sciences Vol 19 No 1 (January 201