Risk perception and correlates of alcohol use among out-of-school youth in motor parks in Lagos State, Nigeria

Background and Aim: The prevalence of alcohol use has increased globally. Out-of-school youth are a vulnerable group who might have missed opportunities for learning healthy behaviours in a formal school environment. The purpose of this study was to determine the risk perception, pattern of use, and correlates of alcohol use among out-of-school youth in Lagos, Nigeria.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 380 out-of school youth in motor parks in Lagos State, Nigeria, using interviewer administered questionnaires.Results: The lifetime prevalence of alcohol use was 61.1%, while 55.5% were current drinkers. Beer (57.3%) was the most consumed type of alcohol, followed by distilled spirits (29.8%). Using the CAGE scoring system, more than half (57.8%) of the current drinkers had a drinking problem. Almost three quarters (70.1%) had experienced at least one episode of alcohol intoxication within the past month. A considerable number of current drinkers (63.5%) desired to reduce their alcohol intake or stop drinking, while 45.5% had made unsuccessful attempts to do so within the past year. Only 28.9% had received assistance to quit or reduce their drinking and of these less than half (39.3%) received assistance from a professional or healthcare worker. Males were more likely to be current drinkers and to have experienced episodes of alcohol intoxication. Parental and peer drinking were associated with alcohol use but not with intoxication.Conclusions: It is important to design specific programmes to reduce alcohol use among out-of-school youth in these settings

Squamous odontogenic tumour: report of five cases from Nigeria and review of literature

Objectives: To report and describe 5 cases of squamous odontogenic tumour(S.O.T) that accumulated in the file of the biopsy services of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos during a period of 21years, review the literature and to comment on the nature of this rare tumour. Methods: Haematoxylin and eosin stained sections of each of the tumours histologically diagnosed as S.O.T were reviewed with the objective of reconfirming the diagnosis in the biopsy report file. Results: 5 cases of S.O.T. were diagnosed during this period. The mean age of occurrence (+SD) was 36.6 years + 10 (range 20 to 45 years). All the five (100%) cases presented in females, 4(80%) occurred in the mandible and 1 (20%) occurred in the maxilla. All the 4 mandibular lesions occurred in the body of the mandible while the single maxillary lesion occurred in the posterior region. Discussion: All the 5 cases in the present series presented in females, though review of the literature showed that this tumour do occur in males also but with a female predominance. The mandibular prevalence (4 out of 5) in this series contrasts with reports in the literature. This variation may be due the limited number cases studied, but are however important additions to the few reported cases. Conclusion: Care should be taken not to misdiagnose this condition as acanthomatous ameloblastoma or well differentiated squamous cell carcinoma. Although, it has an infiltrative pattern of growth, S.O.T. has become accepted as a distinct lesion rather than a variant of ameloblastoma. Treatment should be by conservative excisionKeywords: Squamous odontogenic tumour, report, Nigeria

Response of patent medicine vendors in rural areas of Lagos state Nigeria to antimalarial policy change

Background: Patent medicine vendors (PMVs) play an important role in the treatment of malaria, especially in the rural areas. Nigeria recently changed her antimalarial treatment policy from chloroquine to artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT).Objectives: To determine the response of PMVs to the new policy.Methods: A baseline study was conducted in two local government areas (LGAs) of Lagos state Nigeria as the first phase in an intervention study aimed at improving the malarial treatment practices of PMVs in rural Lagos. A mixed method design involving a questionnaire survey of 180 PMVs and four key informant interviews were used. An antimalarial drug (AMD) audit was also performed.Results: More than 80% of respondents were aware of the policy change in malaria treatment, but only 23.9% sold an ACT for the last case of malaria treated in an under five child. The main determining factor of the particular AMD sold was PMV’s personal choice (70.6%). About half (58.9%) of the shops stocked ACTs, the newly recommended antimalarials.Conclusions: The high awareness of the policy change did not translate to a commensurate increase in the sale of the new drugs. Factors beyond the PMVs need to be addressed for a successful adoption of the new policy.Key words: Patent Medicine Vendors, ACTs, policy change, malaria, artemisinin monotherapies, non-artemisinin therapie

Computation of Time in Election Litigation in Nigeria – Emerging Trend and Implication for Litigants’ Rights

Most steps in the course of civil litigation, including election litigation, are required to be taken within particular time frame with failure to comply attracting serious consequences. Until recently, the rules regulating computation of time in Nigeria seemed to have been fairly settled. These rules apply across the board to all legal transactions including litigations, election or otherwise. Most basic of these rules is that the day of occurrence of an event is not to be included in computing number of days from such event. Of recent, however, there appears to be an attempt to formulate different rules for computation of time in election litigation.  It is proposed in this work to examine the possible legal justification for this departure and the implication for the rights of parties in election litigation in Nigeria. Keywords:            computation of time, election litigation in Nigeria, emerging trend

Safety Evaluation of Two Nigerian Polyherbal Formulations (Fidson Bitter® And Daily Living Bitter®) In Male Wistar Rats

Background: Herbal bitters are used for diverse diseases based on the manufacturers’ assertions. However, little is known about their toxicity profile.Objective: The safety profile of two commonly used herbal bitters in Nigeria (Fidson bitter® and Daily living bitter®)was evaluated in rats.Materials and Methods: Single oral dose, 2 g/kg, of each reconstituted bitter extract was administered to male and female rats in acute toxicity test. Animals were observed for 14 days for behavioral changes and mortality. In sub-acute oral toxicity experiment, 250 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg of each bitter was separately administered daily to different groups of male Wistar rats for 30 days. Safety profile of concurrent administration of these bitters was also assessed. Histopathological, hematological, and clinical chemistry indices were evaluated.Results: The LD50 was found to be >2 g/kg. Daily living bitter® (DLB) had no significant effect on any of the indices evaluated (P>0.05). However, Fidson bitter® caused significant reductions in white blood cells count (WBC) compared with the control. Concomitant administration of the bitters resulted in significant (P<0.05) weight gain (up to 33 %), reduction in WBC and congestion of the liver without corresponding increase in liver biomarkers.Conclusion: Daily living bitter® was safe in sub-acute administration while Fidson bitter®and combination of the two bitters reduced white blood cell count. Hence, caution should be exercised in using Fidson bitter® or combination of the two bitters in humans as findings suggest possibility of immune suppression.Keywords: Toxicity profile, Polyherbal, Herbal bitters, Hematology, Wistar rats

Periapical granuloma associated with extracted teeth

Objective: This article aims to determine the incidence of periapical granuloma from extracted teeth and correlate the clinical diagnoses with the histopathological types of periapical granuloma.Patients and Methods: Over a period of eight months, a prospective study designed as a routine biopsy of recoverable periapical tissues obtained from patients who had single tooth extraction was carried out.Results: One hundred and thirty-six patients participated in the study, with 75 (55.1%) histopathologically diagnosed periradicular lesions. There were 23 (16.9%) cases of periapical granuloma, with a male to female ratio of 2: 1. The lesion presented mostly between the third and fourth decades of life (n=9, 6.6%). Clinically diagnosed acute apical periodontitis was significantly associated with periapical granuloma, with predominantly foamy macrophages and lymphocytes (P<0.05).Conclusion: Periapical granuloma appears to be a less common periapical lesion in this study compared to the previous reports. In contrast to reports that relate to an acute flare of the lesion with abundant neutrophilic infiltration, this study has shown marked foamy macrophages and lymphocytes at the acute phase, which are significantly associated with the clinical diagnosis of acute apical periodontitis. We recommend the classification of periapical granuloma into early, intermediate, and late stages of the lesion, based on the associated inflammatory cells