Assessment of Radiation Protection Measures in a Nigerian Tertiary Health Care Center

Radiation protection is critical and poses an increasing international concern in this era of evidence based practice and the approach to the use of ionizing radiation should be conscientious and cautious. Ionizing radiation in any quantity is potentially deleterious to health however, its benefit far outweighs the risk. This study was carried out in the radiology department of a tertiary health care center in Nigeria with the aim of assessing radiation protection measures in the hospital in comparism with international standard. Several factors were evaluated such as the integrity of the shielding used, the x ray room design , technical considerations, management's role in provision of good equipment, staff and training, effectiveness of workplace and personnel monitoring, quality  control and records as radiation protection tool. This study showed that  all the parameters assessed and radiation doses were acceptable and below the annual permissible dose indicating that the radiation protection measures employed by the hospital were good and complied with international standard, though record keeping seemed to be a major challenge. Keywords: Radiation protection, Ionizing Radiation, X-ray, Quality Control, Quality Assuranc

A study of comparison of tension band wiring versus plating for olecranon fractures

Background: Olecranon fractures are one of the common fractures around the elbow, comprising around 37% of all fractures occurring around the elbow. Olecranon fractures are commonly treated with either plating or tension band wiring. The purpose of current study is to compare the clinical and radiological outcome of tension band wiring and plate fixation in patients operated for olecranon fractures.Methods: Current study was conducted in a tertiary care center from May 2017-2019. Study compromises of 30 patients operated for olecranon fractures. Clinical and radiological outcome of patients treated with tension band wiring or plating and assessed using the Mayo’s elbow score at 6 months follow up.Results: Out of the 30 patients, 15 were treated with tension band wiring and 15 were treated using open reduction and plating. Out of the 15 operated with tension-band wiring (TBW) K wire on follow up 11 showed excellent score on Mayo elbow score, 2 had good results and 2 had fair results. In patients operated with Plating 12 showed excellent result on follow up and 3 showed good result. No patient had fair or poor score.Conclusions: Both tension band wiring and plate fixation are effective methods for treatment of olecranon fractures however complications regarding symptomatic metal prominence and superficial infection were higher in patients treated with tension band wiring as compared to plate fixations

Assessment of Background Radiation Levels at the Radiology Department of a Tertiary Hospital in North-central Nigeria

Background: Background radiation has over the years become a public health concern. It is therefore, imperative to ascertain its levels within strategic areas in our radiology facility for monitoring and compliance with international standards.Objectives: To determine the background radiation levels in the Radiology Department of Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Keffi, Nigeria.Methodology: The design was prospective and cross-sectional and involved the measurement of background radiation levels at various locations in the radiology department. Calibrated thermo Scientific RadEye TM B20 / B20-ER survey meter, an associated scalar counter, and a stopwatch, were used for measurements at each point, based on standard guidelines recommended by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).Results: The least mean radiation (0.11µSv/hr) was detected in the computed tomography (CT) suite while the maximum value (0.13µSv/hr) emanated from the radiographers' common room. The coefficient of variation for the Chief Radiographers office, Head of Department's office and the Radiologist’s office were similar 8.3%. The radiographers’ common room was slightly higher (10.9%). The main diagnostic room and seminar room had 16.7%, while it was 9.09% for the CT suite. The standard error ranged between 0.002 and 0.004. There was statistically significant difference in all test values at a level of significance of 5% (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Background radiation values obtained were within recommended standards. However, there is need for regular radiation monitoring as part of radiation safety culture in our radiology facility

Farmakokinetika ceftriaksona u teladi

The pharmacokinetics of ceftriaxone was determined after a single intravenous and intramuscular administration at the dose rate of 10 mg/kg in crossbred cow calves. The drug concentration in plasma was quantified through High Performance Liquid Chromatography with UV detection. Following intravenous administration the drug was rapidly distributed (t1/2α: 0.13 ± 0.01 h; Vd(area); 0.44 ± 0.07 L/kg) and eliminated (t1/2β: 1.58 ± 0.06 h) from the body with a clearance rate of 3.15 ± 0.41 mL/min/kg. Following intramuscular administration, the peak plasma drug concentration (Cmax) was 15.34 ± 2.39 μg/mL at 0.25 hours (Tmax) suggesting very rapid absorption. The drug was extensively distributed (Vd(area): 1.16 ± 0.15 L/kg) and slowly eliminated (t1/2β: 5.02 ± 0.51 hours; Cl(B): 2.71 ± 0.29 mL/min/kg) following intramuscular administration. The absolute bioavailability of ceftriaxone was 47.0 ± 5.0% following intramuscular injection. However, it can be used at a dosage of 10 mg/kg intramuscularly, repeated at twelve-hourly intervals, for the treatment of susceptible bacteria infections in calves.Farmakokinetika ceftriaksona određivana je u križane teladi nakon njegove jednokratne intravenske i intramuskularne primjene u dozi od 10 mg/kg. Koncentracija lijeka u plazmi određivana je tekućinskom kromatografifi jom visokog učinka s UV zrakama. Raspodjela lijeka bila je brza nakon intravenske primjene (t1/2α: 0,13 ± 0,01 h; Vd(area): 0,44 ± 0,07 L/kg), a izlučivanje (t1/2β: 1,58 ± 0,06 h) iz tijela s klirensom od 3,15 ± 0,41 mL/min/kg. Nakon intramuskularne primjene vršna koncentracija u plazmi iznosila je (Cmax) 15,34 ± 2,39 μg/mL tijekom 0,25 sati (Tmax) što upućuje na vrlo brzu apsorpciju. Raspodjela lijeka bila je izrazito dobra (Vd(area) 1,16 ± 0,15 L/kg), a izlučivanje sporo (t1/2β: 5,02 ± 0,51 sati; Cl(B): 2,71 ± 0,29 mL/min/kg) nakon intramuskularne primjene. Apsolutna biološka raspoloživost nakon intramuskularne primjene ceftriaksona iznosila je 47,0 ± 5,0%. Međutim, on se može rabiti u dozi od 10 mg/kg i.m. te ponavljati u razmacima od 12 sati radi liječenja bakterijskih zaraza u teladi

A mononuclear iron(III) complex with unusual changes of color and magneto-structural properties with temperature: synthesis, structure, magnetization, multi-frequency ESR and DFT study

From the reaction of 2-hydroxy-6-methylpyridine (L) with iron(II) tetrafluoroborate, a new mononuclear iron(III) octahedral complex [FeL6](BF4)3 has been isolated. The color of the complex reversibly changed from red at room temperature to yellow-orange at the liquid nitrogen temperature. Magnetization measurements indicate that iron(III) in [FeL6](BF4)3 is in a high-spin state S = 5/2, from room temperature to 1.8 K. The high-spin ground state of iron(III) is also confirmed by DFT calculations. Although the spin-crossover of the complex is not observed, X-band and multifrequency high-field/high-frequency electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy shows rather uncommon iron(III) spectra at room temperature and an unusual change with cooling. Spectral simulations reveal that the S = 5/2 ground state multiplet of the complex can be characterized by the temperature independent axial zero-field splitting parameter of |D| = +2 GHz (0.067 cm−1) while the value of the rhombic parameter E of the order of some tenths MHz increases on lowering the temperature. Single crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD) shows that the iron(III) coordination geometry does not change with temperature while supramolecular interactions are temperature dependent, influencing the iron(III) rhombicity. Additionally, the DFT calculations show temperature variation of the HOMO–LUMO gap, in agreement with the changes of color and ESR-spectra of the iron(III) complex with temperature

Estimation of renal function in intensive care patients and comparison with gentamicin clearance

Background  Patients in the intensive care unit often receive broad spectrum antibiotic (e.g., gentamicin) treatment that are mostly eliminated through the renal route. Therefore, the kidney function is a crucial factor to establish a good dosage regimen especially in patients with acute kidney injuries. Old-fashioned estimation formulas are used today to estimate the kidney function and there is room for improvement. A publication from 2009 have presented that clearance for gentamicin is a good enough estimation compared to the golden standard measurement methods.  Aim  The aim of the study was to first find and investigate already developed equations to estimate non-steady-state kidney function. Thereafter, the aim was to identify which equations, both suited for steady-state and non-steady-state situations, that could best correlate to CLg in adult ICU patients.  Methods  PubMed was used to gather data about non-steady-state kidney function. The equations were then applied on Excel and a dataset containing 100 patients was used to calculate kidney function estimates. Clearance for gentamicin were then compared to the estimates using linear regression, Bland-Altman plots and P30 values.  Results and discussion  The Cockcroft-Gault formula had the highest P30-value, while Grubb’s cystatin C formula generated the best Bland-Altman plot as well as the best linear regression. However, neither of these were good enough to be used in the clinical work. Surprisingly, the Jelliffe equation was the poorest to estimate kidney function.  Conclusion  None of the evaluated estimations were clinically good enough to replace the gentamicin clearance method.