Management of Giant Cell Tumour: A Nigerian Experience

Giant cell tumours (GCT) are the commonest bone tumours worldwide. It is rarely malignant but when it does it progresses to fibrosarcoma with high mortality. Otherwise it causes poor cosmesis, disability and pathological fractures. A total of 19 cases of histologically established Giant cell tumour of the bone were reviewed prospectively in a 5 year study. 14 cases were benign, 4 malignant and one was a malignant transformation. Lesions around the knee accounted for 42.2% of the cases, but the radius was the commonest single bone affected with 26.3%. Eleven patients had curettage, five of them had autogenous bone grafting while the remaining six had bone grafting and plate augmentation. One patient had fore-quarter amputation while seven had tumour resection. There was no recurrence recorded among those that had currretage and autogenous bone grafting. 33% of those that had curettage and bone cementing as well as 16.6% of those that had resection presented with recurrence. One patient died within 3 months of surgery due to metastasis to the lungs, liver and spleen. Mean follow up was 9.2 months (range of 2 to 60 months). With early presentation, curretage and bone grafting is often effective; late presentation however has an increased risk of recurrence due to soft tissue involvement, dearth of investigative tools and financial constraints. Nigerian Journal of Surgical Sciences Vol. 17 (2) 2007: pp. 91-9

Substitution of manure source and aerator in nursery media on sandy loam topsoil and their fertility indices 4 months after formulation

Abstract Purpose In soil-based nursery media, topsoil, poultry droppings and sawdust conventionally provide anchorage, nutrients and aeration, respectively. Considering poultry droppings’ scarcity and sawdust’s inertness nutrient-wise, more readily available organic wastes should be explored as substitutes. Here, we evaluated the effect of such substitution on media fertility, aimed at seeking alternatives to the conventional practice. Methods In a topsoil-manure-aerator volume ratio of 3:2:1, poultry droppings was substituted with pig slurry (slurry) or cattle dung (dung) as manure and sawdust with rice-husk dust (huskdust) as aerator, giving seven soil-based media including reference medium (topsoil+droppings+sawdust) and the control (topsoil+topsoil+topsoil). They were watered regularly and analysed for fertility parameters 4 months later. Results Reference had the highest pH (8.60) and topsoil + dung + huskdust/control the lowest (6.83). Substituting sawdust with huskdust enhanced pH, organic matter and Mg2+ in droppings/dung-amended media (topsoil+droppings+huskdust/topsoil+dung+huskdust) unlike slurry-amended ones where it too reduced total nitrogen (0.19 vs 0.11%). The substitution also enhanced available phosphorus in topsoil+droppings+huskdust (117.50 mg kg−1) and topsoil+dung+huskdust (71.50 mg kg−1) but reduced K+ in the latter where it too had moderating effects on Na+. Reference surpassed topsoil+slurry+huskdust for Ca2+, but was surpassed by topsoil+droppings+huskdust for Mg2+. Reference/topsoil+droppings+huskdust and topsoil+slurry+huskdust/control showed highest and lowest CEC, respectively. Excluding pH, topsoil+dung+huskdust and topsoil+slurry+sawdust were, notably, consistently similar. Overall, droppings-amended > dung-amended > slurry-amended media and, for available phosphorus only, sawdust-aerated < huskdust-aerated media. Conclusion Based on fertility status 4 months after blending, topsoil+droppings+huskdust could serve as alternative to the conventional nursery medium, or topsoil+dung+huskdust where near-neutral pH is preferred to increased phosphorus/cations release

Overlooked Influence of Indian Hemp (Cannabis sativa) Cultivation on Soil Physicochemical Fertility of Humid Tropical Agroecosystems: Lowland Soils

One agricultural practice that may be depleting plant nutrients in wetland soils of the humid tropics is cultivation of Indian hemp (Cannabis sativa), also called Marijuana. Though Nigerian Law, adopted from International Conventions on narcotics, prohibits handling of any part of cannabis plant, it is still illicitly cultivated. This practice may be undermining the quality of wetland agroecosystems. To support these concerns with empirical data, the influence of Cannabis cultivation on soil physicochemical fertility of wetland agroecosystems was assessed at a representative location in southwestern Nigeria. The study compared four land-use options; land not used for Cannabis cultivation (NUC), land currently under Cannabis cultivation (CCC), farmlands converted from Cannabis to alternative use (CAU), and Cannabis farmlands abandoned or seized (ABS). Soil data from the pedogenetic horizons under these land-use options were averaged and analysed. There were significant differences in soil bulk density, with low values in NUC (1.36 Mg m–3) &lt; medium values in CCC (1.55 Mg m–3) &lt; high values in both CAU and ABS (1.62-1.66 Mg m–3). The highest value in the ABS (1.66 M&nbsp; m–3) is slightly above the critical limit (1.60 Mg m–3) for root growth. Soil compaction in Cannabis farmland thus worsened even after discontinuation of cultivation. Soil pH, soil organic C, total N, exchangeable Ca, exchangeable Mg, apparent and effective cation exchange capacity also differed thus NUC ≥ CCC ≥ CAU ≥ ABS, while base saturation showed an inverse trend. Available P was, however, higher in CCC (14.32 mg kg–1) than the rest, with lowest values in ABS (5.83 mg kg–1). Micronutrients (Mn, Zn and Cu), excluding Fe which was unaffected, followed the trend of soil pH. It is concluded that continuous cultivation of Cannabis in humid tropical lowlands compacts the soil and drains soil nutrients except available P whose status is rather elevated. The practice thus poses a threat to food security and ecological well-being.&nbsp

Challenges in the diagnosis and management of musculoskeletal tumours in Nigeria

The management of musculoskeletal tumours is important because of the high mortality rates associated with the available treatment modalities. A 5-year prospective study of bone and soft-tissue tumours is presented, along with the difficulties encountered in diagnosis and treatment. There were 71 patients (male:female ratio of 1.7:1, age range 5–85 years, mean age 32 years) with an average duration of 24.7 weeks (range 1 day to 34 years) before presentation. No patient had computed tomography (CT) scanning or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) due to financial constraints, 95% had biopsies and X-rays, 15% could afford chemotherapy/ror chemotherapy is a sad consequence. 50% agreed to amputation. In the soft-tissue sarcoma group, only one of three patients could pay for limb-sparing surgery. In the benign group, 65% had limb-sparing surgeries and 15% had amputation. Fifty percent (50%) of patients were lost to follow up within 3 months and 39% of the malignant group died within the same period. Musculoskeletal tumours are a reality in our environment and a significant portion of our population have financial limitations. Ignorance and cultural beliefs promote late presentation to our hospitals, which are poorly equipped to give optimal care, despite the presence of trained personnel