What proportion of abortion seekers in Calabar are really pregnant?

Context: The incidence of induced abortion and the associated health risks are high in Calabar, Nigeria. There is need to confirm whether all the women subjected to these procedures are really pregnant. Objective: To determine what proportion of women seeking abortion services in Calabar were really pregnant. Design and Setting: Cross sectional study on women in Calabar who seek and obtain abortion services. Calabar is the capital of Cross River State in South-Eastern part of Nigeria. Subjects and Methods: Women who sought and obtained induced abortions in Calabar during the period of study were recruited into the study. The products of conception from the induced abortions were sent for histopathological examinations to confirm whether they were really pregnant. Results: One Hundred and Fifty claimed to be pregnant and procured induced abortions but 17 (11.3%) women were not pregnant from the histological reports of the products of conception. Conclusion: A significant proportion of women seeking abortion services in Calabar Nigeria are not pregnant. The routine use of pregnancy tests and/or ultrasonography could prevent a substantial proportion of unnecessary procedures. This will result in reduced health risks and substantial cost saving for women. Keywords: pregnancy test, ultrasonography, induced abortion Tropical Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Vol. 22(1) 2005: 12-1

The role of hospital-based cancer registries in low and middle income countries-The Nigerian Case Study.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of cancer continues to rise all over the world and current projections show that there will be 1.27 million new cases and almost 1 million deaths by 2030. In view of the rising incidence of cancer in sub-Saharan Africa, urgent steps are needed to guide appropriate policy, health sector investment and resource allocation. We posit that hospital based cancer registries (HBCR) are fundamental sources of information on the frequent cancer sites in limited resource regions where population level data is often unavailable. In regions where population based cancer registries are not in existence, HBCR are beneficial for policy and planning. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Nineteen of twenty-one cancer registries in Nigeria met the definition of HBCR, and from these registries, we requested data on cancer cases recorded from January 2009 to December 2010. 16 of the 19 registries (84%) responded. Data on year hospital was established; year cancer registry was established, no. of pathologists and types of oncology services available in each tertiary health facility were shown. Analysis of relative frequency of cancers in each HBCR, the basis of diagnosis recorded in the HBCR and the total number of cases recorded by gender was carried out. RESULTS: The total number of cancers registered in these 11 hospital based cancer registries in 2009 and 2010 was 6484. The number of new cancer cases recorded annually in these hospital based cancer registries on average was 117 cases in males and I77 cases in females. Breast and cervical cancer were the most common cancers seen in women while prostate cancer was the commonest among men seen in these tertiary hospitals. CONCLUSION: Information provided by HBCR is beneficial and can be utilized for the improvement of cancer care delivery systems in low and middle income countries where there are no population based cancer registries

Heterogeneity in head and neck cancer incidence among black populations from Africa, the Caribbean and the USA: Analysis of cancer registry data by the AC3

International audienceBackground: Africa and the Caribbean are projected to have greater increases in Head and neck cancer (HNC) burden in comparison to North America and Europe. The knowledge needed to reinforce prevention in these populations is limited. We compared for the first time, incidence rates of HNC in black populations from African, the Caribbean and USA. Methods: Annual age-standardized incidence rates (IR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) per 100,000 were calculated for 2013-2015 using population-based cancer registry data for 14,911 HNC cases from the Caribbean (Barbados, Guadeloupe, Trinidad and Tobago, N = 443), Africa (Kenya, Nigeria, N = 772) and the United States (SEER, Florida, N = 13,696). We compared rates by sub-sites and sex among countries using data from registries with high quality and completeness. Results: In 2013-2015, compared to other countries, HNC incidence was highest among SEER states (IR: 18.2, 95%CI = 17.6-18.8) among men, and highest in Kenya (IR: 7.5, 95%CI = 6.3-8.7) among women. Nasopharyngeal cancer IR was higher in Kenya for men (IR: 3.1, 95%CI = 2.5-3.7) and women (IR: 1.5, 95% CI = 1.0-1.9). Female oral cavity cancer was also notably higher in Kenya (IR = 3.9, 95%CI = 3.0-4.9). Blacks from SEER states had higher incidence of laryngeal cancer (IR: 5.5, 95%CI = 5.2-5.8) compared to other countries and even Florida blacks (IR: 4.4, 95%CI = 3.9-5.0). Conclusion: We found heterogeneity in IRs for HNC among these diverse black populations; notably, Kenya which had distinctively higher incidence of nasopharyngeal and female oral cavity cancer. Targeted etiological investigations are warranted considering the low consumption of tobacco and alcohol among Kenyan women. Overall, our findings suggest that behavioral and environmental factors are more important determinants of HNC than race