Banger-related ocular injuries during New Year festivities in Osogbo, SW Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Different types of ocular injuries could be sustained following banger explosives. This case report could be the first of such reports in West Africa.CASE DETAILS: We report cases of ocular injuries caused by bangers. This was a hospital-based study of 3 consecutive cases that presented during the New Year festival. Injuries were classified according to Birmingham eye trauma terminology system (BETTS). Two of the patients ended up with irreversible loss of vision. Another two of the three were bystanders.CONCLUSION: As banger-related ocular injuries result in significant morbidity, public education regarding the proper use of bangers would help in preventing the incidence of ocular injuries and blindness. Advocacy for a strict legislation to regulate its use is strongly recommended.KEYWORDS: Bangers, eye injuries, holidays, Nigeri

Prevalence of blindness and visual impairement in Atakunmosa west local government area of southwestern Nigeria

No Abstract.Tanzania Health Research Bulletin Vol. 9(2) 2007: pp.126-13

The prospect of anatomy as a career choice among clinical year medical students in Nigeria

Background : Medical doctors are potential important source of anatomy teachers. The aim of this study was to determine the choice of anatomy as a career option among medical students in a Nigerian medical school Method : Descriptive survey of second- and third-year medical students using a self-administered questionnaire to asses age, sex, perception of anatomy as a subject, anatomy training experience and choice of anatomy as a career among respondents. Analysis was conducted using the SPSS and statistical significance inferred at P<0.05. Results : Three hundred and fifty three (85.3% response rate) who completely filled questionnaire were returned and analyzed of which 195 (55.2%) were males and 158(44.8%) were females. Their ages ranged between 18 and 37 years with a mean of 22.4 ΁ 9.9 years. Although most students agreed that anatomy was an important subject in medical sciences 346 (98%), they had benefited from anatomy training in their clinical classes 320 (90.7%), and the knowledge of anatomy is useful in investigating patients with certain diseases 251 (71.1%), only 22 (6.2%) would choose anatomy as a career. Male students were more likely to choose anatomy as a career (P=0.026). Textbooks were the most common 334 (94.5%), while radiological means were the least 23 (6.5%) method employed in learning anatomy. Conclusion : Anatomy as a subject is perceived positively by clinical medical students, but the choice as a career option is low; attempt at increasing career interest is needful

Anaesthesia for Ophthalmic Surgical Procedures

Background: Ophthalmic surgical procedures are performed under  anaesthesia to enhance comfort and cooperation of patient.Objective: To review factors influencing the choice of anaesthesia for ophthalmic surgical procedures.Design: Restrospective descriptive studySetting: Eye unit of a tertiary hospital.Subjects: All patients who had ophthalmic surgeries in the operating theatre from January 2002 to December 2009.Results: Two hundred and ninety ophthalmic surgeries were carried out during the study period. Age range was 1-95 years and mean of 61.0±1.9; most (55%) were elderly while 4.8% were children. One hundred and fourty seven (50.7%) were males, 143(49.3%) females ; male:female of 1.03:1. Local anaesthesia was the more commonly (92.1%) employed while general anaesthesia was used in 23(7.9%) patients. General anaesthesia was used more frequently (71.4%) in children compared to other age groups; the mean age and standard error of means for patients who had general anaesthesia (27.2 /5.4 years) is smaller compared to 63.9/0.93 years for patients who had local anaesthesia (p<0.0001). Regional anaesthesia was the most frequently used for all types of procedures except for eye wall repairs in which general anaesthesia was used for 71.4% of patients (p<0.0001). General anaesthesia was indicated in seven(41.2%) of emergency ophthalmic surgical procedures as compared to 16 (5.9%) of elective ophthalmic procedures P<0.0001.Conclusion: General anaesthesia was more commonly employed in children, eye wall repairs and emergency ophthalmic surgical procedures

Diabetic Eye Disease

No Abstrac

Axial Length/Corneal Radius of Curvature Ratio and Refractive Status in an Adult Nigerian Population

Aim/Background: Associations between axial length (AL) to corneal radius of curvature (CR) ratio and refractive status in a healthy Nigerian adult population were studied. Materials and Methods: Healthy students and members of staff of Obafemi Awolowo Teaching Hospitals Complex, Ile‑Ife, South West Nigeria, free of obvious ocular diseases except possible refractive errors were recruited. Consecutive consenting volunteers were recruited by simple random sampling and a proportionate sample of each population based on its representative fraction in the hospital community was recruited. The study was conducted between June and August 2011. Noncycloplegic objective refraction was done and spherical equivalent refraction (SER) of the right eyes was used for calculation. The AL, CR, and keratometric readings were measured with the IOL Master. The AL/CR ratio was calculated. The data were analyzed with statistical software package STATA 13. Results: Three hundred and fifty volunteers aged 18–60 years were studied. The mean ± standard deviation of AL/CR and SER were 3.04 ± 0.10 and −0.38 ± 1.42D, respectively. AL in myopia was significantly higher than in emmetropia and hypermetropia. There were no significant differences between CR in the refraction groups. Myopes had significantly higher AL/CR than nonmyopes. On controlling for age and gender, 1 mm increase in AL increased SER by −0.77D (95% confidence interval [CI] −0.91–−0.64D) while a unit increase in AL/CR increased SER by −8.89D (95% CI −10.00–−7.78D). Whereas AL accounts for 39% of variability in SER (P < 0.001), AL/CR accounts for 51% of the variability observed in SER (P < 0.001). Conclusion: This study has further confirmed that the AL remains a strong determinant of refraction, but a derived factor AL/CR accounts for more variation in final refractive status than AL in isolation.Keywords: Axial length, axial length/corneal radius of curvature ratio, Nigerian adults, refractio

Factors Associated With Conjunctival Bacterial Culture Positivity In Pre-Operative Cataract Patients

The study aim to determine the risk factors associated with conjunctival culture positivity in patients scheduled for cataract surgery in OAUTHC Ile-Ife. Eighty four consecutive consenting patients scheduled for cataract surgery were recruited into the study. The patients had a structured questionnaire administered, visual acuity assessment, pen torch examination as well as slit lamp bio-microscopy  examination. Conjunctival swab was obtained from the inferior conjunctival fornix of the eye scheduled for surgery using a sterile swab stick. The same was transported in a transport medium to the laboratory where microscopy culture and sensitivity was conducted. A total of 84 patients were recruited into this study, 40 (47.6%) were males and 44(52.4%) were females with a male: female ratio of 1:1 Age ranged postfrom 10 to 88 years with mean age of 57.9 ± 17.1 years. Majority 53(63.1%) had formal education in almost equal proportion by sex. 36 eyes (42.9%) had  positive conjunctival bacterial culture. Coagulase negative staphylococcus (CNS) was the most frequently isolated organism (50.0%). The associated risk factors with conjunctival culture positivity in patients scheduled for cataract surgery were: age 50 years and above (p value=0.004, risk ratio 1.4), male gender (p value=0.032, risk ratio 1.6) and low literacy level (p value=0.031, risk ratio 1.8). It was recommended that elderly, male and illiterate patients undergoing cataract surgery would benefit from extra attention and health education on ocular hygiene by ophthalmologists and other health workers in order to avoid post-operative ocular infections and endophthalmitisKeywords: Bacteria, Cataract, Culture, Pre-operative, bilateral operable cataract. Risk factorsThe Tropical Journal of Health Sciences Vol 19 No 1 (January

Assessment of Human and Material Resources Available for Primary Eye Care Delivery in Rural Communities of Southwestern Nigeria

Integration of primary eye care (PEC) into the existing primary healthcare (PHC) system is efficient in reaching rural communities. Baseline assessment of human and material resources for primary eye care delivery in a rural local government area of southwestern Nigeria with projected population of 126 625 was conducted. Data on number and cadre of all PHC facilities and health-workers were collected. All facilities were visited and materials required for basic PEC inspected. Forty-one (42.3%) community health extension workers, 42 (43.3%) health assistants, 3 (3.1%) community officers of health and 11 (11.2%) registered nurses administered PHC in 27 health facilities. No worker had training in PEC and none of the centres had all the materials for basic PEC delivery. Although procurement of materials and training of health-workers in basic PEC delivery is required, the healthcare facilities and workers currently available are adequate to commence integration of PEC into the PHC system

Ophthalmic admissions in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria

Background: Hospitalization for eye care is required for different reasons. The pattern of admissions into the ophthalmic wards of a sub-urban tertiary hospital was studied. Methodology: Records of patients admitted into the Ophthalmology wards of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex Ile-Ife from January 2004 to December 2007 were reviewed and the age, sex, duration of admission and diagnosis recorded. Data was analyzed with SPSS version 13 and statistical significance inferred at P<0.05. Results: Of the 523 patients admitted, 60.2% were males while 39.8% were females (P<0.0001); the male preponderance becomes less prominent with increasing age (P=0.001). The duration of admission ranged between 2 and 24 days with a mean of 2.86± 1.95 days and 63% were admitted for 3 days. The main indications for admission were cataract (58.3%), ocular trauma (14.3%) and glaucoma (13.4%). Eye injuries were more common among children and young adults while cataract and glaucoma were the leading indications in the middle aged and elderly. Conclusion: Cataract, trauma and glaucoma were the leading indications for ophthalmic hospitalization. Human and infrastructural development of the ophthalmology unit should lay emphasis on the more prevalent needs to enhance effective and efficient management of these diseases

Awareness and utilization of protective eye device among welders in a southwestern Nigeria community

Objective: To determine the level of awareness and practice of use of&nbsp; protective eye devices among welders in Ile-Ife.Methods: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study of 405 consenting&nbsp; welders. A pretested proforma was utilized to obtain information on&nbsp; sociodemographic characteristics, as well as awareness and use of&nbsp; protective eye device.Results: The age of the respondents ranged from 16 to 80 years. The&nbsp; mean age was 39 &plusmn; 13 years. A large proportion (315, 78%) of the welders was aged between 21 and 50 years. The youngest group aged &le;20 years accounted for 15 (4%) of all welders, while the oldest group aged &gt;60 years accounted for 21 (5.2%). 402 were males (99.3%) and three were females (0.7%). Three hundred thirty-six (83%) of the welders had&nbsp; practiced for 6 years and above. There was a high level of awareness of protective eye devices among the welders (367, 90.6%), being higher&nbsp; among arc welders compared with gas welders (P&lt;0.001). Less than half (186, 45.9%) of the welders possessed protective eye devices. Of these, only 39 (9.6%) made use of the devices always. Some of the reasons for not using the protective eye devices include discomfort and poor visibility (56, 13.6%) and inadequate appreciation of the necessity to wear it (49, 12.1%).Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that a significant proportion of welders in Ile-Ife were not utilizing protective eye device. Health&nbsp; education and awareness campaigns about the importance and benefits of utilizing protective eye devices are recommended