Practice and Knowledge of Funduscopy by Medical Practitioners in Owo, Nigeria

Aim: This study was carried out to determine the practice of funduscopy by medical practitioners and also identify possible barriers to it in a Nigerian community.Methodology: The study was conducted in March and April 2008 at the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria. Eighty medical practitioners were selected by simple random sampling and interviewed with the aid of a questionnaire. Information obtained included biodata of the respondents, practice of funduscopy, barriers to the practice offunduscopy, as well as the use of dilating eye drops for funduscopy.Results: More than half of the respondents (58.8%) practiced funduscopy while the remaining 41.3% did not. Most respondents (89.4%) who practiced funduscopy did so rarely. The majority of the respondents (88.8%) expressed a desire for further training in funduscopy. The barriers to the practice of funduscopy were mainly lack of skills (30%) and lack ofaccess to an ophthalmoscope (28.8%). Very few respondents (7.5%) used topical mydriatics for funduscopy. The level of experience and of the respondents significantly affected the practice of funduscopy with a p value of 0.032.Conclusion: More than half of the respondents performed funduscopy, however most of them did so rarely. The barriers to the practice of funduscopy include lack of skills and access to an ophthalmoscope

Awareness of family planning amongst antenatal patients in a Nigerian community: an exploratory study

Aim: This study aimed at determining the awareness about family planning amongst pregnant women presenting to the antenatal clinic of Federal Medical Centre, Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria.Methodology: The study was conducted between December, 2007 and February, 2008 at the antenatal clinic of the hospital. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Ethical Review Committee of the hospital prior to commencement of the study. The information was obtained from the respondents with the aid of a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire which included their bio-data, awareness and the sources of awareness about family planning .Other information obtained were reasons for family planning as well as knowledge about the different methods of family planning. The information obtained with the study instrument (questionnaire) was collated and analyzed with SPSS statisticalsoftware version 12.0.1. Results: Most respondents (89%) were aware of family planning. The majority of the respondents:42 (47.2%) received information about family planning from health workers while 21(23.6%)received the information through the media. Most of the respondents (74%) knew about condom. The level of education significantly affected the awareness about family planning with a p value of 0.017.Conclusion: Most respondents were aware of family planning. The media should play a more prominent role in creating awareness amongst the populace about family panning.Keywords: Family planning, awareness, pregnant women, Nigeria

Attitudes towards female genital cutting among pregnant women in Owo, Nigeria

Background: This study aimed to determine the attitudes of pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic at Federal Medical Centre, Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria, towards female genital cutting.Method: The study was conducted over a period of six months, between November 2010-April 2011, at the antenatal clinic of the hospital. Prior to commencement of this study, ethical clearance was obtained from the ethical review committee of the hospital. The respondents were interviewed by the authors and three trained research assistants, with the aid of aquestionnaire. The obtained data were collated and analysed with SPSS® 15.0.1 statistical software.Results: Most respondents (72; 56.3%) had undergone female genital cutting. The majority (90; 70.3%) were aware of female genital cutting. Less than half supported discontinuation of female genital cutting (63; 49.2%) and legislation against it (57; 44.9%). A quarter of respondents (33; 25.8%) would allow their daughters to undergo female genital cutting.Conclusion: The majority of the respondents had undergone female genital cutting, which was sometimes carried out by a medical practitioner. Less than half supported the discontinuation of female genital cutting and legislation against it. Medical practitioners should be prevented from performing female genital cutting

Millennium development goals: An assessment of awareness and perceptions of attainability by health workers in Owo, Nigeria

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Job satisfaction amongst Nigerian ophthalmologists: an exploratory study

Aim: This study aimed to assess job satisfaction amongst Nigerian ophthalmologists. Methods: The study was conducted during the annual congress of the Ophthalmological Society of Nigeria in September 2008. One hundred and ten ophthalmologists were selected by simple random sampling and asked to complete a structured questionnaire. Results: The response rate was 73%. The resulting sample comprised of 48 consultants (60%), four diplomates (5%), and 28 residents (35%). Most respondents 62 (78.5%) were satisfied with their job as ophthalmologists and 17 (21.5%) were not satisfied. Only 12 (15.4%) were satisfied with their remuneration and 42 (53.2%) were satisfied with their skill. Most respondents (75.6%) expressed readiness to pursue a career in ophthalmology if they were to make a choice again. Conclusion: Most respondents were satisfied with their job, but only minorities were satisfied with their remuneration. Therefore, there is a need to address the issue of enhancement of remuneration for ophthalmologists in Nigeria.Keywords: ophthalmologists; job satisfaction; Nigeri

Pigmented Invasive Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Conjunctiva in a Young Nigerian Female – A case report

Squamous cell carcinoma of the conjunctiva (SCCC) rarely presents as a pigmented lesion. This report is on a 32-year old healthy Nigerian female who presented on account of a 6-month history of left ocular irritation with associated increase in the size of a supposed ‘birth mark’ which hadbeen present in the left eye for 6 years. Six years prior to this she had noticed a dark patch in the left eye which had shown no changes until 6 months to the time of presentation when it started to increase in size with associated telangectasia. Examination did not reveal obvious leukoplakia. Histology showed invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the conjunctiva.There have not been many reported cases of pigmented squamous cell carcinoma of the conjunctiva among Nigerians. Such pigmentation might have resulted from secondary acquired melanosis. Of interest in this case is the presence of a pre-existing dark patch at the site of the lesionwhich could have been due to racial melanosis or conjunctiva nevus as there was no prior histological evaluation. A histological examination of some of the supposedly innocuous pigmented conjunctiva lesions wasrecommended.Key words: squamous cell carcinoma, conjunctiva, pigmented, Nigeria

Ocular manifestations in HIV-AIDS patients in a Nigerian community

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the ocular manifestations of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) among the study population.Method: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among HIV-AIDS patients at the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, Nigeria. Ethics clearance was obtained from the ethics review committee of the hospital. Informed consent was obtained from all the respondents. This study was conducted over a period of nine months, from October 2010-June 2011, at the medical outpatient centre and the eye clinic of the hospital. The obtained information included the socio-demographics of the respondents, World Health Organization clinical stage of AIDS, CD4 count, duration of HIV-positive status, history of ocular problems and the treatment sought.Results: A total of 112 consenting respondents participated in this study. Not many respondents (36, 32.1%) were aware of eye complications that relate to HIV-AIDS. Most informed respondents had been enlightened by health workers (20, 55.6%). Few respondents (16, 14.3%) had HIV-AIDS ocular manifestations. Squamous cell carcinoma was the most common ocular manifestation.Conclusion: Efforts should be made to promote the ocular health of HIV-AIDS patients to prevent blinding ocular manifestation.S Afr Fam Pract 2012;54(5):455-45

Causes of blindness and visual impairment at the school for the blind Owo, Nigeria

Aim : This study was designed to determine the causes of blindness amongst the pupils of the School for the blind ,Owo and also identify treatable causes of blindness in the study population.Methodology : This study was conducted between November and December,2007 at the School for the blind, Owo. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Ethical Committee of Federal Medical Centre, Owo prior to carrying out this study. Sixty two pupils of the School for the blind and blind students in Owo High school were enrolled in this study. The subjects were interviewed and examined by the authors with the aid of WHO’S recording form for blindness and visual impairment in children. The data obtained with the study instrument was collated and analyzed with SPSS 12.0.1.Results : Majority of the subjects: 55 (88.7%) were blind while the remaining 7 (11.3%) had low vision. Lens ranked highest amongst the anatomical sites of visual loss accounting for 24.2%,followed by retina (14.5%),optic nerve (12.9%) and glaucoma (12.9%).The main aetiologicalfactors were intrauterine (37.1%) and hereditary factors (21%). The commonest single diagnosis was cataract (21%) followed by glaucoma(12.9%). Twenty seven respondents (43.6%) had treatable causes of blindness.Conclusion : The lens ranked highest amongst the anatomical sites of blindness and visual impairment. The main aetiological factors were intrauterine and hereditary factors. The commonest single diagnosiswas cataract. Less than half of the respondents had treatable causes of blindness and visual impairment.Key words: Childhood blindness, visual impairment, cataract, blind school and Nigeria

Self medication amongst general outpatients in a Nigerian community hospital

Aim: This study was designed to determine the proportion of general out patients who practice self medication, the drugs employed and the reasons for resorting to self medication. Methodology: This study was conducted between June and December, 2007 at the General Outpatient Clinic of the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria. Two hundred consenting respondents were selected by simple random sampling and interviewed with the aid of semi structured questionnaire by the authors with three assistants. Information regarding their bio-data, history of self medication, drugs used and the reasons for resorting to self medication were obtained.Results: Majority of the respondents (85%) admitted to self medication while the remaining proportion (15%) did not practice it. Drugs utilizedcould be single, usually analgesics (26.5%) and anti-malaria (15.9%) or in combinations, usually antimalaria-analgesics (22.4%),  antimalariaanalgesic-antibiotic (15.3%) and antibiotic-analgesic (10.0%). The reasons cited by respondents for self medication were their perceptionof their complaints been minor enough to be amenable to self medication (54.7%) and financial constraint (22.4%). Conclusion: Majority of the respondents practiced self medication using an array of drugs like analgesics, anti-malaria and antibiotics used either singly or in combination. The main reasons identified for self medication were that the ailments were minor and financial constraint.Key words: Self medication, drug misuse, Nigeria