X-Ray Barrier Estimation - A Case Study of the General Radiography Room of a Major Nigerian Teaching Hospital

Background: The observation that the designing rules and calculations on shielding barrier thickness estimation for most general radiographic rooms are not being practised made the evaluation of the already existing shielding barrier of the general Radiography Room of Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Shika - Zaria to ascertain its shielding adequacy very necessary.Materials and Methods: The General Radiography Room with an area of 6.36m x 5m houses a Silhouette General X-ray machine; model MS-185N with serial number 0877 manufactured by General Electric (GE) Medical Systems in September, 2004. The evaluation was based on the method by NCRP Report No. 147, and used the number of patients examined in this room per week for shielding calculations.Results: The results showed that the barrier thickness required varied from 0.10 to 0.46mm of lead for the secondary barriers and 1.36mm of lead for the primary barrier. The ratio of the calculated to the current (already contructed) barrier thickness ranged from 0.09 to 0.23 for the secondary barriers and 0.68for the primary barrier .Conclusion: Based on the results from this study, the shielding barrier already provided in the General Radiography Room of Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Shika - Zaria is adequate and in the event of public access to the surrounding area, the dose rates are at acceptable limits

An Assessment of the Lead rubber aprons in Radiodiagnostic centres in South-South Nigeria

Background of Study: Radiation protection is of core importance inradiodiagnostic centres, to keep both patients care givers and staff of thecentres from stochastic and non- stochastic effects of radiation. Theeffectiveness and protectiveness of aprons are of valuable importance, it istherefore necessary to assess these aprons to ensure efficacy. Such qualitychecks have not been reported in the South – South region of Nigeria.Aim: To assess in terms of their quality and therefore protective features, thelead aprons in used radiology clinics in the South-South region of Nigeria.Method: Twenty two protective lead aprons from 18 radiological clinics inSouth-South Nigeria were directly exposed to X-rays with average factors of70 ± 5kVp, 16 mAs and 100 cm Source to apron distance, with 43 x 35 cmcassettes places underneath to cover the upper (thoracic half) and the lower(abdominal half) respectively. Exposed films were processed in each centrefollowing regular processing protocols to obtain radiographs with images ofthe state of the aprons. The images were analyzed on the basis of each apron’slead equivalence (content), age, brand and the type of defects observed.Defects were characterized into cracks, tears, splits and rips. Physicalexamination for cleanliness, wear and tear was also carried out.Results: Results showed that 68% of all the aprons under study weredefective, having cracks (44%), tears (33%), splits (15%) and/or rips (8%).About 73 % of the defective aprons had more than one (1) type of defect. Upto 87% of the defective aprons had no inherent lead equivalence andmanufacturer identification indicated on them. It was observed that about73% of these defects occurred in aprons of aged between 1-10 years with thearea affected in the range of 1.00 – 1000.00 mm2.Conclusion: Over two-thirds (⅔) of lead aprons found in diagnosticradiology centres in South – South Nigeria, have shown sufficient evidence ofdefects to suggest that they may not be useful for radiation protection of theusers

An Assessment of the Lead rubber aprons in Radiodiagnostic centres in South-South Nigeria

Background of Study: Radiation protection is of core importance in radiodiagnostic centres, to keep both patients care givers and staff of the centres from stochastic and non- stochastic effects of radiation. The effectiveness and protectiveness of aprons are of valuable importance, it is therefore necessary to assess these aprons to ensure efficacy. Such quality checks have not been reported in the South – South region of Nigeria. Aim: To assess in terms of their quality and therefore protective features, the lead aprons in used radiology clinics in the South-South region of Nigeria. Method: Twenty two protective lead aprons from 18 radiological clinics in South-South Nigeria were directly exposed to X-rays with average factors of 70 ± 5kVp, 16 mAs and 100 cm Source to apron distance, with 43 x 35 cm cassettes places underneath to cover the upper (thoracic half) and the lower (abdominal half) respectively. Exposed films were processed in each centre following regular processing protocols to obtain radiographs with images of the state of the aprons. The images were analyzed on the basis of each apron’s lead equivalence (content), age, brand and the type of defects observed. Defects were characterized into cracks, tears, splits and rips. Physical examination for cleanliness, wear and tear was also carried out. Results: Results showed that 68% of all the aprons under study were defective, having cracks (44%), tears (33%), splits (15%) and/or rips (8%). About 73 % of the defective aprons had more than one (1) type of defect. Up to 87% of the defective aprons had no inherent lead equivalence and manufacturer identification indicated on them. It was observed that about 73% of these defects occurred in aprons of aged between 1-10 years with the area affected in the range of 1.00 – 1000.00 mm2 . Conclusion: Over two-thirds (⅔) of lead aprons found in diagnostic radiology centres in South – South Nigeria, have shown sufficient evidence of defects to suggest that they may not be useful for radiation protection of the users

Trans-orbital sonographic assessment of optic nerve diameter in a sampled Nigerian population

Background: Studies have reported variants in the dimensions of optic nerve diameter among different ethnic groups, just as other body anatomy differs from regions to regions.Aim: To establish normal range of optic nerve diameter in a sampled Nigerian population, sonographically.Materials and Method: A total of 725 apparently healthy adult subjects (362 males aged 32 to 65 years and 363 females aged 30 to 68 years) were recruited from the South South and South Eastern parts of Nigeria for this prospective descriptive study. The optic nerve diameter (OND) was measured using a high-resolution digital dedicated small-parts real time ultrasound machine (Sonoace 5500; Medicol, Medison, Miami, FL, USA) with a high frequency (10-MHz) linear array transducer. Subjects were in supine position and were asked to keep their eyes closed and still. Coupling gel was placed on the closed eye lid with the transducer softly placed over the upper temporal eyelid in an axial plane. The OND was measured perpendicular to the vertical axis of the scanning plane as a horizontal distance between the two walls of the nerve sheath. The height and weight of the subjects were determined using a meter rule and a weighing scale.Results: The mean optic nerve sheath diameter of males and females was 4.2 ± 0.13 mm. It ranged from 4.0 to 4.45 mm. The optic nerve sheath diameter of males was not significantly different from that of females (p = 0.345). No significant difference between the mean OND of both eyes (p = 0.345). Body mass index and age did not have any association with OND (r = 0.017, 0.034), the data were normally distributed.Conclusion: Optic nerve diameter of apparently normal Nigerian adults ranges from 4.0 to 4.5 mm. Values outside this range may demand further evaluation in the study population

Pattern of snoring among school children in Calabar, Nigeria

No Abstract. Nigerian Medical Practitioner Vol. 51 (5) 2006: pp. 103-10

Clinical significance of Q-TC interval in children with sleep-disordered breathing

Aim: We investigated the usefulness of ECG (Q-Tc interval) in determining the optional treatment modality for pediatric Sleep disordered breathing (SDB). METHOD: Fifty-six children presenting with snoring and associated symptoms of obstructive SDB had adenotonsillectomy (A&T) as an optional treatment modality. All studied children had ECG as routine preoperative evaluation in the absence of polysomnographic facilities. At 12 weeks post-adenotonsillectomy ECG was repeated. A Q-Tc interval = or >0.43 was regarded as prolonged. Duration of study was 4 years (September 2002 to August 2006). RESULTS: There was disappearance of symptoms in 98.21 % of children by the second week following A&T. At 12 weeks post-A&T only 26 (46.42%) of patients were available for ECG re-evaluation. Mean pre-op versus post-op Q-Tc was 0.4482 and 0.3932 (t -5.484, df 25, p=0.000.) while mean heart rate was 106.15 and 105.19 (t -.179, df 25, p=0.859.). Adenotonsillectomy resulted in a reversal of prolonged Q-Tc to within the normal range. Five (19.23%) of the children with normal Q-Tc 0.39, 0.41, 0.40, 0.41 and 0.35 preoperatively assumed even lower values post operatively (0.37, 0.40, 0.39, 0.406 and 0.32 respectively). There was no statistical correlation between heart rates and Q-Tc intervals in the pre and post adenotonsillectomy patients. (Pearson correlation; -.058, P = 0.389 and -.266, p = .095 respectively). CONCLUSION: Prolonged Q-Tc interval can be a reasonable pointer to the severity of SDB and its correction is an objective assessment of adenotonsillectomy as an effective treatment option for childhood SDB. Global Journal of Mathematical Sciences Vol. 6 (1) 2007: pp. 41-4

Anthropometric study of the cranial parameters using Computed Tomography (CT) scan to establish cephalic index of a sampled population in Calabar, Nigeria

Background: Ethnic characteristics of individuals are best described with the skull. Cranial index is one of the most important variables for determining sexual dimorphism and of course racial differences. Parameters used in establishing cephalic index vary considerably depending on the age, sex, geographical habitat, ethnic background of the individuals involved and the methods employed. Such has not been documented in Calabar, especially with the use of advanced imaging modality such as the Computed Tomography (CT) scans. This is the rationale of the study.Objective: To determine the cephalic index of Nigerians residing in Calabar using CT scan.Materials and Methods: A total of 200 cranial Brivo 385 16 slice CT scan images of Nigerians aged from 18 to 87 years were obtained from the Asi-Ukpo Diagnostic Medical Centre Calabar. A simple random probability sampling technique was employed. Variables measured were the Maximum Cranial Length (MCL), Maximum Cranial Width (MCW), Bizygomatic Length (BZL) and the Orbital Length (OBL). The cephalic index was obtained by measuring the ratio of the maximum head width (MCW) or the Biparietal Diameter (BPD) to maximum head length (MCL) or the antero-posterior diameter then multiplied by 100.Results: Cranial length was 182.9 ± 0.657mm in males and 178.53 ± 0.09mm in females. Cranial width was 138.59 ± 0.56mm in males and 137.21 ± 0.65mm in females. The orbital length was 34.35 ± 0.31mm in males and 33.37 ± 0.29mm in females while bizygomatic length was 130 ± 0.31mm in males and 127.54 ± 0.84mm in females. Cranial index was 76.09mm in males and 75.81mm in females. No significant difference between males and females of the study population as the subject appears to be largely mesocephalic (p<0.05).Conclusion: Cranial index of the study sampled population is majorly mesocephalic. Therefore, CT scan is very important a tool in the assessment of cranial parameters in anthropometry.Keywords: Anthropometry, Calabar, Cranial index, Computed Tomography, Mesocephali