Turmeric research at NRCRI Umudike: highlight of major achievements

Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) a member of ginger family Zingiberaceae, is a cross-pollinated triploid (2n =3x = 63); vegetatively propagated by means of yellow fleshed rhizomes; and widely used for culinary and medicinal purposes. Owing to its numerous uses, National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) Umudike began research on turmeric in 1998. This paper highlights the major achievements from almost two decades of turmeric research at NRCRI Umudike. NRCRI pioneered collection of germplasm and indigenous knowledge about the production and utilization of Turmeric. 76 accessions of Turmeric were collected from several expeditions. The highest number of collections (12) was from Ekiti State. Following multi-locational evaluation at Jos, Otobi, Umudike and Igbariam, ten genotypes, viz., UT39, UT44, UT46, UT58, UT50, UT14, UT41, UT6, UT38 and UT35, were identified as promising and require further evaluation as pre-condition for official registration and release to farmers. The proximate composition and potential use of turmeric as food colourants have been established. Agronomic management packages for optimal yield of turmeric have been developed by NRCRI Umudike. Results of economic studies carried out at NRCRI Umudike revealed high profitability of turmeric production with returns per naira (R/N) being N233.90, Net income N326, 918.22 and benefit cost ratio (RCR) of 3.3. Value added products like turmeric powder, have been developed. These and high quality planting materials are being produced and their production technologies extended to farmers and other end users.Keywords: Expedition, Evaluation, proximate composition, economic studies and value additio

Quality characteristics of commercial bottled water sold in Owerri, Nigeria

The quality characteristics of commercial bottled water sold in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria were investigated to determine their physical, chemical and bacteriological content. The four brands of bottled water investigated were Mevok ®, Ozonized April ®, Lacrystal ® and Eva ®. The mean turbidity value of all the samples were above the WHO recommended standard except Mevok ® bottled water with turbidity value of 4(NTU). All the other physical characteristics values were lower than the WHO standards. The overall mean values recorded for sulphate (0.57 ppm), iron (0.05 ppm), copper (0.02 ppm), nitrate (1.68 ppm), alkalinity (1.73 ppm), zinc (0.13 ppm), and calcium (4.00 ppm) were equally lower than the WHO minimum standard for drinking water. The mean pH value (6.4) and all individual sample values were below the WHO standard of 6.5-8.5. The total coliform and total viable bacterial counts were too high and were well above the WHO specifications. The presence of Staph. aureus and E. coli in Mevok ® and April ® samples respectively indicated that the brands are not fit for human consumption. Keywords: Bottled water, water quality, portability, bacterial, public health, NigeriaIJOTAFS Vol. 1 (1) 2007: pp. 57-6

Pattern of pressure ulcers in a tertiary hospital in south-south Nigeria: A 1- year prospective study

Background: Pressure ulcers are a common cause of increased morbidity in patients who are bedridden or wheelchair-bound. Objectives: This is to look at the pattern of pressure ulcers in our facility with the objectives to determine the demographic distribution such as age and sex, sites and stage of the ulcers, co-morbidities and duration of immobilisation prior to onset of ulcer. Methods: This is a prospective study of patients seen within 12 months in the ward or in the surgical outpatient and followed up till discharge or death. Patients were enlisted into the study as they presented. Those with previous surgical treatment of pressure ulcers at the same site were excluded. Results: AGE: range from 15 to 91 years with a mean age of 63.7 years, modal age of 70 years and peak age group 65-79 years (>45 years of age). One patient (10%) was a 15 year old. M: F= 1.2:1. The duration of immobilization prior to development of ulcer ranged from 2 weeks to 20 years. Most of our patients had cerebrovascular disease, 25.8%, as the co-morbidity causing immobilization. Sacral ulcers (61%) were most common site followed by trochanteric (22%). Stage 2 pressure ulcers were the commonest stage.&nbsp

Pattern of Presentation and Risk Factors of Acute Respiratory Infections in Under-Five Years Old in Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos State

This study was embarked upon to determine the pattern of an the risk factors associated with the development of Acute Respiratory infection (ARI) in children under five years in Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos State. A total of 399 children enrolled for the study. These were draw from day care centers and nursery schools. The study lasted five months (January to May 1998). The method of assessment was by questionnaire and physical examination. 185 of the subjects were males and 214 female. This gave 1:1.2 male, female ratio. 70% of the subjects were between 3 and 5 years old. The prevalence of Acute Respiratory Infection was 52.9% with peak prevalence in the age range 4 to 5 years. Cough was present in 61.1% of the subjects while coryza was the most frequent symptom with a prevalence of 95%. The risk factors identified included contract with household members who had coughs, low socioeconomic status of the mother, mother\'s occupation and overcrowding at home. The educational attainment of the mothers was not a risk factor. It is of note that none of the mothers smoked cigarette. NQJHM Vol. 13 (3-4) 2003: pp. 24-2

The incidence and types of medication errors in patients receiving antiretroviral therapy in resource-constrained settings.

PurposeThis study assessed the incidence and types of medication errors, interventions and outcomes in patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART) in selected HIV treatment centres in Nigeria.MethodsOf 69 health facilities that had program for active screening of medication errors, 14 were randomly selected for prospective cohort assessment. All patients who filled/refilled their antiretroviral medications between February 2009 and March 2011 were screened for medication errors using study-specific pharmaceutical care daily worksheet (PCDW). All potential or actual medication errors identified, interventions provided and the outcomes were documented in the PCDW. Interventions included pharmaceutical care in HIV training for pharmacists amongst others. Chi-square was used for inferential statistics and PResultsOf 6,882 participants, 67.0% were female and 93.5% were aged ≥ 15 years old. The participants had 110,070 medications filling/refilling visits, average (± SD) of 16.0 (± 0.3) visits per patient over the observation period. Patients were followed up for 9172.5 person-years. The number of drug items dispensed to participants was 305,584, average of 2.8 (± 0.1) drug items per patient. The incidence rate of medication errors was 40.5 per 100 person-years. The occurrence of medication errors was not associated with participants' sex and age (P>0.05). The major medications errors identified were 26.4% incorrect ART regimens prescribed; 19.8% potential drug-drug interaction or contraindication present; and 16.6% duration and/or frequency of medication inappropriate. Interventions provided included 67.1% cases of prescriber contacted to clarify/resolve errors and 14.7% cases of patient counselling and education; 97.4% of potential/actual medication error(s) were resolved.ConclusionThe incidence rate of medication errors was somewhat high; and majority of identified errors were related to prescription of incorrect ART regimens and potential drug-drug interactions; the prescriber was contacted and the errors were resolved in majority of cases. Active screening for medication errors is feasible in resource-limited settings following a capacity building intervention

Distribution of medication errors identified, interventions taken and the outcomes in patients receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART); N = 3715^*.

*<p>Some patients had ≥ 1 medication errors; some medication errors required ≥ 1 interventions; and outcomes of all interventions were not indicated.</p

HemoTypeSC, a low-cost point-of-care testing device for sickle cell disease: promises and challenges

Background Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a neglected burden of growing importance. >312,000 births are affected annually by sickle cell anaemia (SCA). Early interventions such as newborn screening, penicillin prophylaxis and hydroxyurea can substantially reduce the mortality and morbidity associated with SCD. Nevertheless, their implementation in African countries has been mostly limited to pilot projects. Recent development of low-cost point-of-care testing (POCT) devices for sickle haemoglobin (HbS) could greatly facilitate the diagnosis of those affected. Methods We conducted the first multi-centre, real-world assessment of a low-cost POCT device, HemoTypeSC, in a low-income country. Between September and November 2017, we screened 1121 babies using both HemoTypeSC and HPLC and confirmed discordant samples by molecular diagnosis. Findings We found that, in optimal field conditions, the sensitivity and specificity of the test for SCA were 93.4% and 99.9%, respectively. All 14 carriers of haemoglobin C were successfully identified. Our study reveals an overall accuracy of 99.1%, but also highlights the importance of rigorous data collection, staff training and accurate confirmatory testing. It suggests that HPLC results might not be as reliable in a resource-poor setting as usually considered. Interpretation The use of such a POCT device can be scaled up and routinely used across multiple healthcare centres in sub-Saharan Africa, which would offer great potential for the identification and management of vast numbers of individuals affected by SCD who are currently undiagnosed

Medication errors monitoring indicators disaggregated by age and sex of the patients; values in parenthesis are percentages.

*<p>Some patients had repeated screening for medication error at every medication refill visits.</p