SURGICAL COMPLICATIONS FROM LOCAL HERBAL PRACTITIONERS: REPORT OF FIVE CASES

SUMMARYOver a 12-month period, five patients (out of a total of 72) with serious complications resulting fromuse of herbs by traditional healers were seen at the surgical unit of Olabisi Onabanjo UniversityTeaching Hospital, Sagamu, Nigeria. The age range was one and a half to five years with a meanage of 23.4 ± SD years and a male to female ratio of 3:2. All the cases were misdiagnosed andmismanaged and ended up with various complications. Such as penile amputations, digital necrosis,upper and lower limb gangrene as well a severe sepsis among others. Ignorance, cultural beliefsand attitudes, delusion, poverty and inaccessibility to orthodox medical practice were some of thefactors responsible for the patronage of traditional healers

SPECTRUM AND OUTCOME OF CLINICAL DISEASES IN ADULTS LIVING WITH AIDS AT THE OGUN STATE UNIVERSITY TEACHING HOSPITAL

ABSTRACTObjectives: To evaluate the changing frequency of HIV/AIDS amongst medical admissionsas well as the spectrum and outcome of clinical diseases among these patients.Design: Retrospective study.Setting: Tertiary hospital in Nigeria.Participants: Two hundred and six People Living With AIDS (PLWA) admitted at themedical wards during the period 1992 to 2002.Intervention: Treatment was symptomatic in all patients and where appropriate, specifictreatment was administered for indicator diseases. Highly Active Anti-retroviral Therapy(HAART) was not used.Main outcome measures: Mortality within six months of diagnosis.Results: PLWA constituted 4.2% of all medical admissions. The frequency increasedfrom 0% in 1992 to 7.6% in 2001, and dropped to 5% by the year 2002. Seventy patients(34%) died within six months of diagnosis.Results: This study has demonstrated an increasing frequency of HIV/AIDS amongstour medical in-patients from none in 1992 to 7.6% in 2001, and thereafter, a declinein 2002. We suspect that this decline could be a reflection of the health education onHIV, its increasing awareness and the widespread utilisation of effective controlmeasures. Furthermore, the administration of highly active anti retroviral therapy(HAART) to a segment of PLWA in Sagamu by the community medicine departmentcould be contributory.Conclusion: A community based study would be needed to assess the efficacy or otherwiseof these current control measures. The advent of saliva and urine tests for HIV detectionwould ease specimen collection and increase compliance and participation at thecommunity level

A comprehensive evaluation of rodent malaria parasite genomes and gene expression

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A comprehensive evaluation of rodent malaria parasite genomes and gene expression

Host-parasite interactio