African traditional medication and keloid formation in herpes zoster ophthalmicus

Keloid scar complicating herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO) has not been much reported among Africans despite the African population having dark skin. We report on a middle-aged Nigerian with HZO who developed keloid scar following use of traditional herbs to the herpetic rashes. A 52-year-old immune-competent Nigerian male presented with a 2-week history of vesicular rashes involving the left side of the forehead down to the tip of the nose. He initially presented to an African traditional healer who had advised application of various herbs to the lesion. When he presented to the eye clinic, he was treated for the associated uveitis with significant improvement. The cicatricial skin change gradually became raised with clinical appearance of keloid at 1 year of follow-up. Cicatricial skin changes in HZO are not unusual, but keloid formation among Africans has not been much described. Late presentation, use of traditional herbs some of which have corrosive effect and secondary bacterial infection are the possible factors that may encourage such abnormal wound healing. The myth associated with HZO in the local African setting as well as the fact that African traditional healers are still widely accepted among most African communities may play a role in increasing the risk of keloid formation among our population following HZO infection

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

Combined central retinalartery and vein occlusion complicating orbital cellulitis

Orbital Cellulitis is a dreaded ophthalmologic disease. Itmay destroy vision and the eye andmay even become life threatening. Often visual loss is the result of exposure and subsequent destruction of ocular tissue commonly the cornea and the uvea. We report a case of combined central retinal artery and vein occlusion complicating orbital cellulitis in a 35 year old patientwho was 37 weeks pregnant resulting in loss of vision in the affected eye. There have been fewcase reports of this type of complication of orbital cellulitis. Keywords: Combined; Central Retinal Artery and Vein Occlusion; Orbital Cellulitis; Pregnancy Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice Vol. 11 (1) 2008: pp.75-7

Pattern of Ophthalmic Consult from the Ear, Nose and Throat Ward of a Tertiary Hospital

Objective: To study the pattern and indications for ophthalmicreferral of patients with otorhinolaryngology problems.Method: A retrospective study of patients who were admittedinto the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) ward of the UniversityCollege Hospital, Ibadan and had ophthalmic referral betweenJuly 2000 and June 2004. The parameters evaluated were thedemography of the patient, indication for ophthalmic consult,and the contribution of the ophthalmologist towards themanagement of the patient.Results: Reports on 26 patients on whom ophthalmic consultswere sent were available for review. This accounted for 3%of the patients admitted during the period under review.Fourteen (53.8% ) of the consults were sent on account ofproptosis and 7 (26.9%) for complaints of poor vision. In 12(46.2%) of these patients, the otorhinolaryngologicaldiagnosis was sinonasal tumour. The ophthalmologist madepositive contributions to the management of 20 (76.9%) ofthe patients. These included the use of lubricants/protectiveshield (6 [23.1%]), tarsorrhaphy (3 [ 11.5%]), antiglaucomamedication (2[7.7%]) and cataract extraction (2[7.7%]).Conclusion: Proptosis ranked highest for ophthalmic consultfrom the ENT ward in this review. Close collaborationbetween subspecialties should be encouraged when managingvisually-threatening conditions. There is also the need for astandard referral protocol

Assessment of the water quality parameters in relation to fish community of Osinmo reservoir, Ejigbo, Osun State, Nigeria

Physicochemical indices of water body changed seasonally and this necessitated an investigation to assess the water quality parameters of Osinmo reservoir in relation to its fish species. The water quality parameters were measured using standard methods. Results obtained show that the reservoir is alkaline in nature with dissolved oxygen  concentration (1.8-7.2 mgl-1) and alkalinity (64 CaCO3 mgl-1-108 CaCO3 mgl-1) which were within the optimum range for growth and survival of fish. Four families of fish comprising eight species were encountered. The sex-ratio of five species which were statistically different (P<0.05) indicatedreproductive efficiency populations while other fish species whose sex-ratio differed insignificantly (P>0.05) revealed a growing population. The  well-being of the fish species was adequate as observed in the least meancondition factor of 0.666±0.057 in C. gariepinus and the highest mean of 2.000±0.242 in S. galilaeus. The productivity of the reservoir can be  improved through proper management of the water body.Keywords: Water quality, fish abundance, diversity, fish biometrics, sex-ratio, condition factor

Rhodanese is a Possible Enzyme Marker for Cyanide Environmental Stress on Aquatic Life

Rhodanese is a cyanide detoxifying enzyme. The role of man through his anthropogenic activities in and around water bodies have increased in recent times. These have led to constant exposure of water body to cyanide and cyanide compounds with increase to loss of many aquatic lives. There are limited methods employed in quick detection of cyanide in water. The aim of this paper was to present rhodanese, an enzyme, as a possible marker for detecting and monitoring water pollution as a result of environmental stress from anthropogenic activities and constant climatic changes.Keywords: Rhodanese, Aquatic Life, Water Body, Cyanide, Toxicit

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

The Distribution of the Enzyme Arginase in the Tissues of Selected Cichlidae Species: Tilapia zillii, Sarotherodon galilaeus and Oreochromis niloticus

The paper reports the tissue distribution of the enzyme arginase in three different Cichlids: Tilapia zilli, Sarotherodon galilaeus and Oreochromis niloticus, from the Aiba and Osinmo reservoirs, located in the southwestern Nigeria. The tissues of S. galilaeus showed very high activity of arginase as compared with the other two species. The liver of O. niloticus and the gut of T. zillii showed very high activity of arginase in the Osinmo reservoir. The high arginase activity observed in the tissues of these organisms is attributed to ureotelism and is similar to the result obtained for tilapia, Alcolapia grahami, from lake Magadi, Kenya

An Analysis of Yam Storage Strategy to Promote Food Security in Asa Local Government Area of Kwara State, Nigeria

This study examines the analysis of yam storage strategy to promote food security in Asa Local Government Area of Kwara State, Nigeria. Data was collected from 110 respondents, using wellstructured interviews schedule. The data was analysed using frequency distribution, percentages, means and probit model to test for significance. The study found that barn (47.3%) and indigenous plant materials (27.3%) were the common storage strategy used which are not capable of ensuring good storage for yam produce till off season. Probit model analysis revealed that the selected personal characteristics had significant (p<0.05) influence on farmer’s choice of strategy used. Deterioration of yam that reduces its quality (mean score 2.01) has also been the leading problem faced in marketing yam produce. It was concluded that these are one of the major reasons for food insecurity among farmers in the study area. It was recommended that farmers should be provided with information regarding improved storage strategies as well as exposed to training on their use

Sexually transmitted diseases at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre, Malawi

Objectives: To re-assess attendance at the sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) clinic in relation to age, sex and seasonal variation over a three-year period, and to determine the pattern of STD syndromes presenting at the STDs clinic, Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre, Malawi.Design: A retrospective study.Setting: STDs clinic, Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH), Blantyre, Malawi.Results: The study findings indicate that of the 50,524 attendees, 52.72% and 47.28% were males and females respectively. Over the period there was a significant (30.7%) increase in the number of attendees from 14,622 (28.94%) in 1996 and 16,794 (33.24%) in 1997 to 19,008 (37.82%) in 1998, a trend that was also observed among the sexes. The age range was between 11 and 72 years. More than half(53.55%) of the patients were within 21 to 30 years age rangewhile a total of 48,054 (95.11%) were below 50 years. The most frequently presented STDs syndromes among the 21- 30 year age group were genital ulcer disease (GUD) (40.86%), genitourinary symptoms high risk (GUS - HR) (20.46%), urethral discharge (UD) (15.65%) and pelvic inflammatory diseases (PID) (13.37%). The four constituted 90.34% of all case presentations. Balanitis (BA) was the least common at 0.32% or 86 cases in three years. Whilethe incidence of genitourinary symptoms low risk (GUS - LR) decreased over the years and no clear pattern could be established with (GUS - HR), acute scrotal swelling/pain (SS), and BA, numerical increase in the presentation of UD, PID and enlarged inguinal lymph nodes(BU) was observed. However, the phenomenal increase in the prevalence of STDs particularly GUD rising from 2,988 (37.70%) in 1996 and 3,674 (40.27%) in 1997 to 4,392 (43.88%) in 1998 respectively was noted with concern. There seemed to be a link between seasonal variation and attendance at the STD clinic as more cases presented between March and May peaking in April of each year while December period recorded the least attendance.Conclusion: Attendance rate at the STDs clinic, Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre, is still on the increase in spite of the various STDs/HIV/AIDS awareness campaign programmes