Preauricular Sinus-classic versus Variant Types among a Cross-section Subjects in Southwestern Nigeria

Background: The variant types of preauricular sinuses (‘postauricular sinuses’) presenting as postauricular swelling have rarely been reported. Preauricular sinuses and cysts result from developmental defects of the first and second pharyngeal arches. This and other congenital ear malformations are sometimes associated with renal anomalies such as branchio-oto-renal syndrome. The variant types of preauricular sinuses (‘postauricular sinuses’) presenting as postauricular swelling have rarely been reported. Aim: The study is a prospective one carried out to find out the prevalence of preauricular sinus (classic and variant) in our community. Methodology: This was a prospective study carried out between June 2013 and May 2018 on patients seen in Ear, Nose and Throat department of the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido-Ekiti, as well as a cross-section of population in different communities of Ekiti state, Nigeria, after obtaining ethical approval from the hospital ethical committee and informed consent was taken from all subjects enrolled in the study. Detailed clinical history, administered interviewer’s assisted questionnaires full examination and. Data obtained were collated and analyzed

The Impact of Adenotonsillectomy on Health- Related Quality of Life in Pediatric Patients

Objective: To determine the impact of Adenotonsillectomy on Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children’s before and after surgery. Study Design: Prospective, Observational, before and after trial. 142 children who underwent Adenotonsillectomy were included in the study. Parents were made to fill pre and post-operative questionnaires which were customized from Tonsil and Adenoid health status instrument (TAHSI) and HR-QoL (Health-related quality of life) forms, one day prior to the surgery and 6 months after the surgery respectively, and the results were tabulated and analysed. Setting: Tertiary paediatric otolaryngology practices. Result: Out of the 142 children in the study 80 were male and 62 were female. Male to Female ratio being 1.3:1. Age group 1-4 years had highest number of patients while age group 9-12 had the least. Preoperatively the Mean score of domains for Sleep disturbances, Physical Symptoms, Emotional distress, Daytime functions, and Caregiver concern was 14.1, 15.83, 6.89, 7.54, and 13.78 respectively. After 6 months of the surgery, the score decreased to 4.65, 4.22, 4.32, 3.1 and 4.2 respectively. This shows a significant improvement in the symptom complex and the quality of the life. Conclusion: Adenotonsillectomy leads to an improvement in the HRQoL in children as majority of parents were extremely satisfied with the surgical outcome. Almost all the parents reported decrease in Sleep disturbances, Physical Symptoms, Emotional distress, Daytime functions, and Caregiver concern

An Impacted Denture in the Hypopharynx - A Quick Intervention Reduces Morbidity

A 32-year-old male police officer was brought to Accidents and Emergencies on account of ingestion of a denture while trying to drink his medications, 4 hours prior to presentation in our facilities. He reported immediate painful distress, a choking sensation, cough and mild difficulty in breathing. A plain radiograph showed opacification with increased prevertebral soft tissue shadow in the region of C4-C5 of the hypopharynx. The emergency examination was conducted under general anaesthesia and the foreign body was extracted from the throat. Immediate post-operative condition was satisfactory. This case is reported to demonstrate the importance of properly anchoring artificial dentures, and as a reminder to people with artificial dentures to exercise caution when taking medications. Early presentation and quick intervention, as described in this case study, are vital to prevent serious morbidity which may occur as a result of such a condition

Hearing loss molecular analysis

In the past it was difficult to identify children with hearing loss, and many newborns remained undiagnosed, but since early 2000, when Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS) came into place and made successful strides in hearing loss research and have been able to provide screening of hearing loss at an early age of one month, hence they have been able to receive comprehensive treatment. UNHS also tracks infants for further follow up and wherever necessary. The two main methods used in newborn screening are otoacoustic emission and automated auditory brain stem response. Medical evaluation should begin as soon as possible when hearing loss is suspected, so as to complete prenatal, medical, and family history. Demands have been made to use DNA testing in detecting the molecular basis of hereditary hearing loss. The identification of genes and gene defects faces a lot of challenges due to the fact, there is tremendous genetic heterogeneity, but despite that, there has been successful genetic studies of hearing loss in isolated populations and consanguineous families. Hearing loss is common in patients with mitochondrialdisorders, affecting over half of all cases at some time in the course of the disease. Hearing loss has seen some research undertaken to the point now that deafness can be treated and this is through cochlea implantation

SARS-CoV-2 variants-associated outbreaks of COVID-19 in a tertiary institution, North-Central Nigeria: Implications for epidemic control.

The COVID-19 global pandemic is being driven by evolving SARS-CoV-2 variants with consequential implications on virus transmissibility, host immunity, and disease severity. Continuous molecular and genomic surveillance of the SARS-CoV-2 variants is therefore necessary for public health interventions toward the management of the pandemic. This study is a retrospective analysis of COVID-19 cases reported in a Nigerian tertiary institution from July to December 2021. In total, 705 suspected COVID-19 cases that comprised 547 students and 158 non-students were investigated by real time PCR (RT-PCR); of which 372 (~52.8%) tested positive for COVID-19. Using a set of selection criteria, 74 (~19.9%) COVID-19 positive samples were selected for next generation sequencing. Data showed that there were two outbreaks of COVID-19 within the university community over the study period, during which more females (56.8%) tested positive than males (47.8%) (p<0.05). Clinical data together with phylogenetic analysis suggested community transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through mostly asymptomatic and/or pre-symptomatic individuals. Confirmed COVID-19 cases were mostly mild, however, SARS-CoV-2 delta (77%) and omicron (4.1%) variants were implicated as major drivers of respective waves of infections during the study period. This study highlights the importance of integrated surveillance of communicable disease during outbreaks

SARS-CoV-2 variants-associated outbreaks of COVID-19 in a tertiary institution, North-Central Nigeria: Implications for epidemic control. S1 Data

Data for the PLOS ONE paper, "SARS-CoV-2 variants-associated outbreaks of COVID-19 in a tertiary institution, North-Central Nigeria: Implications for epidemic control"

SARS-CoV-2 variants-associated outbreaks of COVID-19 in a tertiary institution, North-Central Nigeria: Implications for epidemic control.

The COVID-19 global pandemic is being driven by evolving SARS-CoV-2 variants with consequential implications on virus transmissibility, host immunity, and disease severity. Continuous molecular and genomic surveillance of the SARS-CoV-2 variants is therefore necessary for public health interventions toward the management of the pandemic. This study is a retrospective analysis of COVID-19 cases reported in a Nigerian tertiary institution from July to December 2021. In total, 705 suspected COVID-19 cases that comprised 547 students and 158 non-students were investigated by real time PCR (RT-PCR); of which 372 (~52.8%) tested positive for COVID-19. Using a set of selection criteria, 74 (~19.9%) COVID-19 positive samples were selected for next generation sequencing. Data showed that there were two outbreaks of COVID-19 within the university community over the study period, during which more females (56.8%) tested positive than males (47.8%) (p<0.05). Clinical data together with phylogenetic analysis suggested community transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through mostly asymptomatic and/or pre-symptomatic individuals. Confirmed COVID-19 cases were mostly mild, however, SARS-CoV-2 delta (77%) and omicron (4.1%) variants were implicated as major drivers of respective waves of infections during the study period. This study highlights the importance of integrated surveillance of communicable disease during outbreaks