Tetanus from Intramuscular Quinine Injection InWarri Niger Delta. Case series: A ten year retrospective study

Aim: To evaluate the development of tetanus from intramuscular injection in children inWarri, Niger Delta of Nigeria Materials and Methods; Retrieval and analysis of case notes of all children with tetanus seen between 1999 and 2008 at Central Hospital Warri with referrals from surrounding General Hospitals and GN Children's Clinic one of the four private hospitals for children in Warri and its environs, and noting those resulting from intramuscular injections. Results: A total of one hundred and seventy five children were diagnosed with tetanus with twelve due to intramuscular injections. Out of the twelve, ten were from intramuscular quinine injection giving a per centage of 83.3%. Six out of the ten from intramuscular quinine were males. The case fatality rate in males is 100% but 50% in females. The patients were given the injections mainly in private clinics and the remaining from a chemist store. The incubation period in all of them was less than seven days. Only one of the patients with tetanus from intramuscular quinine injection survived, giving a mortality rate of 80%. Conclusion: Tetanus from intramuscular quinine in children is relatively uncommon probably because less usage of that route for quinine administration. However, when it occurs, it is highly fatal. Other routes of parentheral quinine administration such as intrarectal are recommend. There is however a recent WHO giudelines on the treatment of severe falciparum malaria which showed the superiority of intravenous artesunate over quinin

Wandering spleen: A common presentation of an uncommon anomaly

Background: With the advent of real time ultrasonography of the abdomen, the spleen is no longer an inaccessible organ. Wandering spleen is a rare entity with only less than 500 cases reported so far. Method: This case report presents a 16-year- old Nigerian girl admitted in a medical centre but referred for ultrasonography on account of a clinical history of lower abdominal tenderness. Result: Ultrasonography examination revealed that the spleen was not found in its normal anatomical position. However, a well defined acoustic signature of the spleen was seen in the pelvis. Conclusion: Ultrasonography which is far cheaper than magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) is a valuable diagnostic aid in this conditio

Helicobacter pylori In Uninvestigated Dyspepsia In Primary Cares In Abakaliki, Nigeria

There is paucity of information on the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in Nigeria. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to determine the prevalence of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to H. pylori in 262 consecutive patients (aged 5.5-56 years) presenting with dyspepsia in primary health cares in Abakaliki, Nigeria. Sixty-nine (26.3%) of the patients had IgG antibodies to H. pylori. Significantly higher prevalence of H. pylori was recorded in older patients than in those ≤ 20 years [29% vs11% (95%CI: 0.072-0.288%)]. Infection was comparable between males and females [28% vs 25%, (95% CI: - 0.078 – 0.138)] but inversely related to the socio-economic status of patients [30.5% vs 14%. (95% CI: 0.054-0.28) and 30.3% vs 8.3% (95% CI: 0.053-0.391) between lower and middle and between lower and upper class respectively]. The high endemicity of H. pylori infection in this study needs confirmation in different settings and/or in the general population

Demographic Variables and Job Performance of Librarians in University Libraries in South East Nigeria

This study aims at determining the relationship between demographic variables and the job performance of librarians in university libraries in South East Nigeria. The study was based on correlational research design. A total of 100 Librarians working as supervisors in the university libraries participated in the study. The instrument for data collection was questionnaire. Mean, Standard Deviation (SD) and Spearman’s ranked order coefficient were used to analyze the data collected while ANOVA and multiple regressions were used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 probability levels. The findings revealed high job performance of librarians with respect to their task and extra roles. The results of the study also showed that only age, education, job position and work experience were found to be significant predictors of librarians’ task-based and contextual performance with education as the most significant predictor. These four variables were found to contribute as much as 56% of the variations in the overall job performance of librarians, while the remaining 44% could be explained by other factors. This paper, therefore, recommends that deployment of staff for their task and extra roles leading to increased job performance should be based on educational qualifications, age, work experience and job ranks

Impact of environmental cadmium, lead, copper and zinc on quality of goat meat in Nigeria

This study evaluated the levels of cadmium, lead, copper and zinc in the muscles and edible offal’s of goat bred from Nigeria. The samples were digested with a 3:1 mixture of HCl and HNO3 and analysed with a Unicam Solar 32 AAS. The results obtained expressed in mgkg-1 showed that kidney had the highest mean concentration of 0.83 ranging from 0.07-3.08 for cadmium, 0.53 from nd-0.63 for lead; while liver had 134.02 ranging from 26.36-398.16 for copper and muscle 131.55 from nd-417.00 for zinc. Most of the samples studied were found to have these metals above the permissible limits set by some regulatory bodies. Pearson’s correlation analysis showed significant correlation (p < 0.01) between the metal levels in the heart and kidney, an indication of common source of contamination. The meat quality was found to be impaired by high levels of Zn, Cu and Cd and indicates widespread contamination of the environment by these trace metals.KEY WORDS: Heavy metals, Goat muscles, Edible offal’s, Environmental impactBull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2010, 24(1), 133-138

Effect of crude oil and some petroleum products on Clarias Gariepinus fingerlings (Catfish: Claridae)

Ninety (90) hatchery bred fingerlings of Clarias gariepinus (mean weight: 0.96 ± 0.1g) were randomly placed in 15 plastic baths (25 litres each) at the Research laboratory and were exposed to different concentrations of oil products to determine their effects on the fish, to facilitate inferential deductions that will enhance effective aquatic environmental management. Three (3) replicate basins of 5 experimental treatments (crude oil, petrol oil, kerosene oil, engine oil and control) were used at a concentration of 1.25ml. L-1. The control experiment was devoid of oil treatment. Six (6) fingerlings were placed in each replicate basin, flooded with 20 litres of clean tap water and fed with nutrafin cichilid food, 2 times daily at 3% body weight. The results showed that the feeding behaviour and swimming performances of fish were reduced after 24 hours of the addition of the various oil pollutants. Mortality of fingerlings in the oiled basins increased as the hours of exposure increased (i.e. 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours). Recovery was not immediate in the treated basin while surviving fingerlings in the control basins grew up to post-fingerlings after 90 days (3 months). There were significant differences (P<0.01 and P<0.05) in the effect of crude oil and the petroleum products on the mortality rate of C. gariepinus when exposed to oil pollutants at 1.25ml. L-1 concentratio

A Comparative Study of Plasma Trace Elements (Copper, Iron and Zinc) Status in Anaemic and Non-anaemic Pregnant Women in Abakaliki, Nigeria

For a comparative study of plasma copper, iron and zinc between anaemic and non-anaemic pregnant women, data for anaemic (n = 223) and non-anaemic (n = 126) pregnant women drawn from a cohort of 351 pregnant Nigerians recruited at gestational age of ≤ 25 weeks for the study of impacts of trace element status on pregnancy outcomes were analysed. With the exception of plasma copper which was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in anaemic women in comparison to the non-anaemic women (10.11 ± 10.15 vs. 8.68 ± 7.92 µmol/l), plasma iron and zinc were lower (p > 0.05) in the former. While plasma copper, iron and zinc concentration were not correlated with maternal haemoglobin concentration, plasma zinc significantly correlated negatively (r = -0.141, p < 0.05) with plasma copper. It is thus concluded that anaemia in pregnant women in this population may partly be due to a combination of trace element deficiencies and their interactions with each other. While interventions should go beyond improving intakes, more research is desired to clearly define these interactions

Determinants of compliance to iron supplementation among pregnant women in Enugu, Southeastern Nigeria

Background: Anemia in pregnancy is highly prevalent among antenatal clinic attendees in Enugu, Nigeria despite the practice of routine iron supplementation in pregnancy. The major problem with iron  supplementation in pregnancy is compliance, and this may be a potential driver to the persistent high prevalence of anemia in this population.Objectives: To find out the compliance rate and determinants of  compliance to iron supplementation among pregnant women in Enugu, southeastern Nigeria.Materials and Methods: This was a questionnaire.based cross.sectional study of eligible pregnant women receiving antenatal care at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Ituku/Ozalla, Enugu, Nigeria between April 1, 2012 and January 31, 2013.Results: The knowledge of iron supplementation was 76.3% (n = 302), however, the compliance rate was 65.9% (n = 261). Tertiary level of education and high social class were factors significantly associated with compliance to iron supplementation after adjusting for other factors in the binary logistic regression analysis (P &lt; 0.05). The major barriers to compliance to iron supplementation included gastrointestinal side effects of iron supplements (41.7%), non.affordability of iron supplements (28.3%), and forgetfulness (15.0%) among the antenatal mothers.Conclusion: The compliance rate of 65.9% for iron supplementation by pregnant mothers in Enugu can further be improved by providing the drug free of charge in the short term and improvement in education and  socioeconomic class of the populace in the long run.Key words: Compliance, determinants, Enugu, iron supplementation,  pregnanc

Improving the Stability of An Interconnected Power System Using Genetic Eigenvalue Technique

Improving the power stability of an interconnected Nigerian 330KV 48 bus power system was developed using Genetic Eigenvalue Technique to mitigate the challenges of proper placement of power system stabilizer due to its highly dynamic and nonlinear nature. In order to eliminate load losses, equipment malfunctioning, and other quality issues, unnecessary tripping and cascaded failures in system network, power system stabilizers are installed to improve system stability. The operational and process data of 330KV power system grid network, cable distance meter (CDM-75), Transmission line calculator (AWR version) were sampled at Transmission Company of Nigeria Osogbo, Osun State of Nigeria. The Genetic Eigenvalue technique was used to generate eigenvalues, damping ratios and participation factors for proper placement of PSS (Power System Stabilizers) to mitigate the effect of transmission line and power plant outage contingencies. The PSSs were placed using Genetic Eigenvalue Analysis technique performed better than PSS placed based on conventional Arnoldi eigenvalue technique. The simulation results for base case voltage profile and for the trajectories of the impact of contingencies were plotted on the MATLAB/SUMULINK environment. From the output plots, the percentage of voltage instability suppression time improvement of Genetic technique over Arnoldi is 51.86%. Oscillation suppression at generator 1, is 74%, and that of generator 3 is 79%, and finally at generator 5 is 76.98%. PSS placed on Nigerian 330KV 48 bus plant and transmission line of an interconnected power system case study power system based on  genetic analysis suppressed voltage oscillation faster compared to the time it took the PSS based on the conventional Arnoldi eigenvalue analysis technique. Keywords: Power Stability- Genetic Eigenvalue, ArnoldiEigenvalue, PSS. DOI: 10.7176/JETP/11-1-03 Publication date: January 31st 202

Medical students' perception of their learning environment at a Nigerian University

Background: The medical learning environment is an interactive network of factors that affect the medical student's academic progress and learning outcomes.This study was designed to assess the overall student's  perception of their learning environment, identify the weak aspects of the environment, determine the effects of age, gender year of study on  student's perception and recommend measures to further enhance students' learning experiences.Method: This is a cross-sectional study and cluster sampling technique was used to recruit respondents. The Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) questionnaire was applied to medical students of Ebonyi State University Abakaliki, to assess the following areas; student's perception of learning, student's perception of course organizers, student's academic selfperception, student's perception of atmosphere, and student's social self-perception. Completed questionnaires were analyzed with the SPSS software, version 17.Results: 180 questionnaires were analyzed. The mean global score was 120.4/200 (60.2%).It was noted to be significantly higher in the second year of study than in the fifth year of study. Further analysis of the subdomain revealed that students in their second year of study had significantly higher scores in all the subdomains except in the academic self-perception. Analysis of the individual items in the DREEM questionnaire showed that the students perceived the environment as not being relaxed during lectures, and that there was poor support system for students that get stressed in their course of study.Conclusion: Students' perception of their educational environment was  positive but there was poor support system for students who get stressed. The school management needs to work on some aspects of social factors to improve on the perception and quality of teaching and learning.Key words: Medical, Students, Perception, Learning, Environmen