Patterns and outcome of respiratory disease among adult in-patients, in Abuja-Nigeria

Objectives: Respiratory disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Most of the deaths will occur in low resource countries like Nigeria. There is limited data on the burden of these respiratory diseases.Methods: A retrospective study of three hundred and seventy-seven (377) cases was carried out. Case selection was based on review by at least a specialist pulmonologist. Other data were retrieved with the help of questionnaire for analysis.Results: Respiratory diseases accounted for about 10.4% of hospital admissions at the medical emergency of the hospital. Pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) (40.3%) and acute lower respiratory tract infections (ALRTI) (27.9%) were the major presentation. More deaths occurred from PTB (51.6%), with HIV and diabetes mellitus been the major comorbidities commonly associated with the disease presentation.Conclusion: The burden of respiratory diseases is substantial, with communicable diseases such as PTB and ALRTI are leading in terms of inpatient presentation. HIV disease is the main condition commonly associated with morbidity and mortality.Keywords: respiratory diseases, burden, outcom

Assessment of iron Parameters and Transient Elastography (FibroScan) Pattern amongPatients with Chronic Viral Hepatitis Infection in Jos, Nigeria

Background:The long-termeffect of excess iron deposition in the liver include fibrosis and cirrhosis which may progress to hepatocellular carcinoma. We assessed iron parameters among patients with chronic viral hepatitis B and C infection (CVHBI; CVHCI) to determineif any correlation existed with the degree of fibrosis in the liver. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out on 186 patients, made up of 132 patients withCVHBI and 54 patients with CVHCI. Serum ferritin and C-reactive protein were done by ELISA, serum iron and total iron binding capacity (TIBC) by colorimetric technique while transferrin saturation (Tsat) was calculated using serum iron and TIBC values. Liver fibrosis was assessed using fibroscan.Obtained data wereanalysed using SPSS version 20 and p values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.  Results: The mean values for serum ferritin, iron, TIBC and Tsat were 218.1±325.6µg/L, 25.1±22.8µmol/L, 71.13 ± 35.92µmol/L and 45.2 ± 49.9% respectively. There were no significant differences in iron parameters between patients with CVHBI and CVHCI. Elevated serum ferritin was found in 15.2% and 20.4% of CHBVI and CHCVI patients respectively; while an elevated Tsat was seen in 22.7% and 24.1% of CHBVI and CHCVI patients respectively. Using a combination of elevated serum ferritin and Tsat, the prevalence of iron overload was found to be1.6%. Fibroscan scores did not differ significantly between patients with orwithout elevated iron parameters. Conclusion:Chronic viral hepatitis infection is associated elevated iron parameters though withminimal effect on liver fibrosis. Conflict of interest: Ni

A Randomised Trial to Compare the Safety, Tolerability and Efficacy of Three Drug Combinations for Intermittent Preventive Treatment in Children

BACKGROUND: Results from trials of intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) in infants and children have shown that IPT provides significant protection against clinical malaria. Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) given alone or in combination with other drugs has been used for most IPT programmes. However, SP resistance is increasing in many parts of Africa. Thus, we have investigated whether SP plus AQ, SP plus piperaquine (PQ) and dihydroartemisinin (DHA) plus PQ might be equally safe and effective when used for IPT in children in an area of seasonal transmission. METHODS: During the 2007 malaria transmission season, 1008 Gambian children were individually randomized to receive SP plus amodiaquine (AQ), SP plus piperaquine (PQ) or dihydroartemisinin (DHA) plus PQ at monthly intervals on three occasions during the peak malaria transmission season. To determine the risk of side effects following drug administration, participants in each treatment group were visited at home three days after the start of each round of drug administration and a side effects questionnaire completed. To help establish whether adverse events were drug related, the same questionnaire was administered to 286 age matched control children recruited from adjacent villages. Morbidity was monitored throughout the malaria transmission season and study children were seen at the end of the malaria transmission season. RESULTS: All three treatment regimens showed good safety profiles. No severe adverse event related to IPT was reported. The most frequent adverse events reported were coughing, diarrhoea, vomiting, abdominal pain and loss of appetite. Cough was present in 15.2%, 15.4% and 18.7% of study subjects who received SP plus AQ, DHA plus PQ or SP plus PQ respectively, compared to 19.2% in a control group. The incidence of malaria in the DHA plus PQ, SP plus AQ and SP plus PQ groups were 0.10 cases per child year (95% CI: 0.05, 0.22), 0.06 (95% CI: 0.022, 0.16) and 0.06 (95% CI: 0.02, 0.15) respectively. The incidence of malaria in the control group was 0.79 cases per child year (0.58, 1.08). CONCLUSION: All the three regimens of IPT in children were safe and highly efficacious TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00561899

Two Strategies for the Delivery of IPTc in an Area of Seasonal Malaria Transmission in The Gambia: A Randomised Controlled Trial

Bojang and colleagues report a randomized trial showing that delivery of intermittent preventive treatment for malaria in children by village health workers is more effective than delivery by reproductive and child health trekking clinics

Evaluating the Benefit of Remote Patient Monitoring in Primary Care.

ABSTRACT Purpose: The recent COVID-19 pandemic shifted attention to patient care outside the hospital, urgent care, and physician offices to curb the spread of the virus. Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) came in handy to continue the much-needed care. The purpose of this article is to review the benefits of remote patient monitoring in primary care in reducing Emergency Room (ER) visits and hospital admissions and readmissions, the burden of responsibility to the patient, and the risks of radiofrequency associated with RPM devices. Method: This study was a secondary analysis of data from multiple randomized controlled trials, systematic reviews, a meta-analysis of systematic reviews, cohort studies, and retrospectively reviewed literature. A literature search was conducted on PubMed database, Medline database, and Google scholar. From the home page of PubMed, using the advanced search link Remote Patient Monitoring and Primary Care were typed into the search builder. Out of the sixty-three narrowed search results, twenty-five patients\u27 articles were retrieved and served as the basis for this clinical review. Results: A large volume of evidence-based research reported positive benefits of RPM, reduced ER visits, hospitalization, and rehospitalization, decreased exacerbation of chronic illness, and a general positive patient outcome. Conclusion: The literature presented evidence of RPM\u27s upward trajectory in patients\u27 care. There is overwhelming evidence of RPM in reducing ER visits and hospital admission. However, there was little or no statistical difference in benefit between RPM and the regular physician office visit. Physicians and patients shared positive views of RPM, although there were reservations and apathy on the burden of self-care and the radioactive risks of the RPM devices

Corporate citizenship in South African business education

This paper seeks to enhance our understanding of the extent and manner in which corporate citizenship and related topics are taught to business students in South Africa. It argues that there are increasingly prominent drivers for integrating these topics in business education, but we know little about how South African business schools are responding. The methodology relies on a survey of business schools' websites, as well as two survey questionnaires, one of which was aimed at MBA coordinators, while the other targeted a range of "MBA stakeholders" consisting of recent MBA graduates and representatives from business, government, and civil society. The findings suggest that, though there are some proactive business schools, South African MBA programmes are generally still dominated by conventional notions of business success. Furthermore, there are important contradictions between the perceptions of MBA coordinators, on the one hand, and those of the MBA stakeholders, with the latter generally demanding more rigorous treatment of corporate citizenship Issues. The overarching conclusion is that a more committed engagement of and by South African business schools is required on the need for integrating corporate citizenship in business education

Which babies get blood in Jos, Nigeria?

Documentation of the transfusion needs of neonatal units is required to guide blood banks in meeting demands. A prospective observational study of newborn transfusions over 35 weeks was conducted. Eighty-four transfusions were conducted in 62 of 377 (16.45%) admitted infants in 35 weeks. Neonatal jaundice (57.2%) and anemia (38.1%) were main indications. In 85.7% cases, blood transfused wa

Evaluation of mineral in the indigenous and industrially produced soya milk in the Anyigba, Kogi State.

Communication in Physical Sciences 2020, 5(2): 688-693 Received 17 April 2020/Accepted 20 May 2020 The aim of this research is to assess some mineral elements in both local and commercial produced soya milk. The samples from locally and industrially produced soy milk were digested with nitric acid and determined at appropriate wavelength with atomic absorption spectroscopy. The mean concentrations (mg/kg) of the selected elements are: 180 ± 0.02 (K), 1.50 ± 0.02 (Mg), 0.63 ± 0.01 (Fe), 1.50 ± 0.01 (Zn) and 4.90 ± 0.01 (Mn) but Na was not detectable (ND) in local soy milk. Whereas the mean concentrations (mg/kg) in commercially produced soy milk are 160 ± 0.01 (K), 2.12 ± 0.02 (Fe), and 2.63 ± 0.01 (Mn) but Na, Mg and Zn were ND.  The concentrations of these elements were compared with Food and Agriculture Organization as well as World Health Organization nutritional recommendation standards, in order to ascertain their regulatory compliance. The results showed that locally made soy milk was rich in micro-nutrients than the commercially produced ones and also, a good source of Mg and Zn

Investigating the potential of thiazolyl carbohydrazides derivatives as anti-Candida albicans agents: An intuition from molecular modelling, pharmacokinetic evaluation, and molecular docking analysis

With increasing incidences of antifungal resistance, biofilm formation, and its predilection for vulnerable populations, Candida albicans have been reported to cause a wide range of infections, from superficial skin irritations to life-threatening systemic diseases. Therefore, understanding and addressing the infections associated with Candida albicans has become an urgent imperative in the realm of global healthcare. As a result, this study employed DFT calculations at the DFT/ωB97XD/6–311++G (2d, 2p) level to optimize the geometric properties of two compounds: (Z)-N'-(4-(4-bromophenyl)-3-(4-fluorophenyl)thiazol-2(3H)-ylidene)-2-(thiophen-2-yl)thiazole-5-carbohydrazide (4-FBC) and (Z)-N'-(4-(4-bromophenyl)-3-(2-fluorophenyl)thiazol-2(3H)-ylidene)-2-(thiophen-2-yl)thiazole-5-carbohydrazide(2-FBC). Significantly, employing spectral analysis techniques such as FT-IR and NMR, the compounds were characterized and identified. Additionally, the compounds (4-FBC and 2-FBC) exhibited comparable reactivity and stability, with more promising reactivity potential in water than in the gas phase. The analysis of Molecular Electrostatic Potential (MESP) and the density of States (DOS) shed light on the electrical characteristics and intermolecular interactions occurring during chemical processes. Furthermore, the natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis provided insights into second-order perturbation energies and the presence of intense intermolecular interactions, as evident in the order of their increasing concentrated intermolecular interaction as thus: 4-FBC_gas (668.34 kcal/mol) > 4-FBC _water (563.98 kcal/mol) and 2-FBC _gas (978.64 Kcal/mol) > 2-FBC_water (696.46 Kcal/mol). The pharmacokinetics study indicated favorable intestinal absorption, low distribution, and cytotoxicity profiles, although 4-FBC required further optimization due to slower clearance, potential enzyme interactions, and immunotoxicity concerns. In addition, molecular docking analysis revealed robust binding affinities and the presence of significant conventional hydrogen bonds. The optimal binding positions (best pose) for the 4-FBC and 2-FBC complexes were determined to have binding affinities of -8.7, -8.4, -8.3 kcal/mol, and -8.6, -8.5, -8.3 kcal/mol, respectively, when interacting with 4YDE, 3DRA, and 1EAG. These findings provide strong evidence supporting the potential pharmacological suitability of 4-FBC and 2-FBC compounds as effective choices for inhibiting and treating Candida albicans