3 research outputs found
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Incidental ultrasound finding of cholelithiasis in an 8-week-old infant: A case report
Infantile cholelithiasis is a rare occurrence. It is often diagnosed incidentally during ultrasonography for other conditions as most cases are asymptomatic and may be self-limiting. A few cases may however present with prolonged neonatal or infantile jaundice. We report our initial experience with an incidental case of infantile cholelithiasis in an 8-week-old male infant who was brought to our ultrasound unit in Accra, Ghana, for an abdominal ultrasound on account of conjugated hyperbilirubinemia and pigmented stools. The patient had presented initially at the children's emergency unit of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, 2 days after an uneventful delivery, with a history of yellowing of the eyes, noticed on the first day of life, which necessitated the request for the ultrasound examination, leading to this rare finding of infantile cholelithiasis. The availability and use of modern sonographic equipment are likely to result in more effective detection of this incidental finding and its subsequent management
Audit of the appropriateness of the indication for obstetric sonography in a tertiary facility in Ghana
Introduction: the use of ultrasound is one of the most vital tools in the management of pregnancies and contributes significantly in improving maternal and child health. Certain indications in pregnancy, guide the obstetrician as to which obstetric scan deems appropriate. The full realization of the benefits of ultrasound depends on whether it is being used appropriately or not, and hence this study aimed at auditing for the appropriate indications for obstetric ultrasound.
Methods: a review of all request forms for obstetric scan between June 2019 and July 2020 was performed to assess the appropriateness of requests for obstetric ultrasound at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital. The data obtained was analyzed using SPSS (SPSS Inc. Chicago, IL version 20.0). A Chi-squared test of independence was used to check for statistically significant differences between variables at p ≤ 0.05.
Results: three hundred and fourteen (314) out of the 527 request forms had clinical indications stated. 174 (81.7%) of requests from Cape Coast Teaching Hospital and 39 (18.3%) from other health centers did not indicate patients clinical history/indication on the request forms. Majority 76 (68.5%) of scans in the first trimester were done without indications/history. Only 29 of requests with clinical history were inappropriate.
Conclusion: practitioners should be mindful of adequately completing request forms for obstetric investigations since e a large number of practitioners do not state the history/indications for the scans. There should be continuous medical education on the importance of appropriate indication for obstetric ultrasound
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Comparing radiological presentations of first and second strains of COVID-19 infections in a low-resource country
INTRODUCTION: The novel corona virus popularly referred to as COVID-19 disease and SARS-CoV-2 was first detected in Wuhan, China in December 2019. It was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020. In Ghana, the first two cases of COVID-19 infection were recorded on March 13, 2020 with a strain imported from Europe. In December 2020, a new strain from South Africa was detected in Ghana which was associated with higher transmission rates, severity of the disease, and higher number of recorded deaths. Our study aimed to record notable differences and similarities between infections due to the initial, and second strains of COVID-19 infections detected in Ghana during the last 12-months.
METHOD: This was a retrospective study involving 50 patients infected with the first strain, and another 50 patients infected with the second strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Microsoft Excel-2013 was the analytical tool.
RESULTS: The data analysis supported publications suggesting that the new strain of the virus caused more severe infections, which were manifested on high resolution CT (HRCT) scans as more widespread alveolar disease, most commonly presenting as large areas of consolidation.
CONCLUSION: Despite numerous similarities in terms of the manifestation of COVID-19 infection on HRCT scans, notable difference supporting the notion of increased virulence and severity of disease were also recorded. The study findings demonstrate the need for heightened and sustained preventive measures needed to reduce, and eventually curb COVID-19 infection and mortality rates associated with the introduction of new virulent strains