Bronchoscopy in Nigerian Clinical Practice: A Survey of Medical Doctors’ Perception, Use and Associated Challenges

BACKGROUND: Bronchoscopy is a vital diagnostic and therapeutic procedure in pulmonological practice. The aim of this study was to determine the perception, use and challenges encountered by Nigerian medical doctors involved in this procedure.MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 250 medical doctors recruited from three major tertiary institutions in Nigeria between September 2013 and June 2014. A semi-structured questionnaire was self-administered to adult physicians, paediatricians, and surgeons as well as their trainees to obtain their perception, use and associated challenges in the use of bronchoscopy in clinical practice.RESULTS: The majority (91.6%) of the respondents perceived bronchoscopy as a beneficial procedure to respiratory medicine. However, 59.2% of them were not aware of the low mortality rate associated with this procedure. The commonest indications for bronchoscopic use were foreign body aspiration (88.8%) and management of lung tumors (75.6%). Only 21 (8.4%) of the respondents had received formal training in bronchoscopy. Very few procedures (1-5 cases per month) were performed. The respondents identified the lack of formal training in the art of bronchoscopy as the foremost challenge facing its practice in Nigeria. In addition, availability of bronchoscopes, level of awareness, knowledge of the procedure among medical doctors and the cost of the procedure were the challenges faced by the medical doctors.CONCLUSION: There is an urgent need to equip training centers with modern bronchoscopic facilities. In addition,well-structured bronchoscopic training programme is imperative to enhance the trainees’ proficiency for the furtherance of bronchoscopic practice.KEYWORDS: Bronchoscopy, Nigeria, Respiratory medicine, Interventional pulmonology, Trainin

Prescription audit in a paediatric sickle cell clinic in South-West Nigeria: A cross-sectional retrospective study

Background: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic haematological disorder that affects millions of people around the world especially people of African heritage. The treatment of the symptoms of SCD includes the use of analgesics, antibiotics, and anti-malarial drugs. Studying the pattern of drug prescription is a veritable tool for establishing the current practice and how it conforms to existing guidelines.Objectives: The main objective of this study was to assess the pattern of drug prescription in children with sickle cell disease (SCD) attending the paediatric outpatients’ clinic of a tertiary care centre in Ado-Ekiti, South-West Nigeria.Methods: This was a cross-sectional retrospective study carried out using the medical records of all patients with SCD who attended the paediatric outpatient clinic of the teaching hospital between January 1 and December 31, 2014. The information retrieved from the case notes included the bio-demographic data, associated co-morbid conditions and the list of prescribed drugs.Results: A total of 202 SCD patients aged below 18 years were seen in the clinic during the study period with males accounting for 61.9% of them. The mean age of all patients was 6.9 ±3.8 yrs. A total of 1015 medications were prescribed during the study period giving a mean of 5.02 ± 1.9. Vitamins/micronutrients, anti-malarial drugs, antibiotics and analgesics accounted for 41.4%, 29.0%, 15.7% and 13.9% of all prescribed drugs respectively. Antibiotics from the penicillin group were the most commonly prescribed followed by macrolides and cephalosporins while Ibuprofen (60.3%) and Acetaminophen (32.6%) were the commonly prescribed analgesics.Conclusion: High rate of antibiotic prescription, low use of opioid analgesics and non- prescription of prophylactic penicillin/ pneumococcal vaccination were the main findings in this study. There is need for the introduction of standard treatment protocols for this group of patients

Ethical issues in kidney transplantation – reflections from Nigeria

Joseph Olusesan Fadare1, Babatunde L Salako21Department of Medicine, Kogi State Specialist Hospital, Lokoja; 2Department of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, NigeriaAbstract: Organ transplantation has become a life-saving procedure for many disease conditions hitherto considered incurable. Kidney transplantation, now the treatment of choice for end-stage renal disease, is the commonest solid organ transplantation carried out in the world at the moment and it is the only solid organ transplantation done in Nigeria. This procedure, in addition to prolonging lives, also provides better quality of life and is evaluated as cost-effective, because it makes more resources available to other sectors of the economy. Organ transplantation in general and kidney transplantation in particular are fraught with ethical issues and dilemmas worldwide. Some of the ethical issues arising in the setting of developing countries like Nigeria may differ from those in countries where this procedure is established. Informed consent of the donor and the recipient is a major requirement for both organ donation and transplantation. Regarding donation, the ethical issues may differ depending on the type of organ donation, ie, whether it is living-related, living-unrelated, cadaveric, or from brain-dead individuals. Commodification of organs is identified as an ethical dilemma, and arguments for and against this practice are put forward here. Confidentiality of donor information, fairness and equity in donor selection, and access to kidney transplantation when needed are also discussed. Finally, the issue of safety of organ harvesting for the donor and of the transplantation process itself, and the possible long-term consequences for both parties are investigated.Keywords: kidney transplantation, ethical issues, developing countries, Nigeri

Potential drug-drug interactions among elderly patients on anti-hypertensive medications in two tertiary healthcare facilities in Ekiti State, South-West Nigeria

Introduction: Drug-drug interactions remain a major cause of adverse drug reactions with great consequences such as increased morbidity and increased healthcare cost. In elderly patients with systemic hypertension, there is a tendency for them to be prescribed multiple medications and this may expose them to some drug-drug interactions (DDIs) especially in the context of physiological changes of ageing. The objective of this study was to evaluate potential drug-drug interaction among some Nigerian elderly hypertension. Methods: A cross-sectional study involving elderly hypertensive patients attending the general outpatient clinic of two tertiary healthcare facilities located in Ekiti State, South-West Nigeria. The information collected from the patients′ medical records included their ages, gender, diagnosis and list of prescribed anti-hypertensive medications. Potential drug-drug interactions were checked for using the Multi-Drug Interaction Checker (Medscape Reference) and Epocrates Drug Interaction Checker (San Mateo CA, USA). Results: A total of 350 elderly patients attended the clinics during the study period of which 208 (59.4%) hypertensive patients were identified and their records used for analysis. The fixed-dose combination drug Moduretic® (Amiloride /Hydrochlorothiazide)-25.7% was the most commonly prescribed antihypertensive followed by Lisinopril (16.6%), Amlodipine (13.2%) and Nifedipine (12.6%). The anti-platelet Acetyl-salicylic acid (ASA) was prescribed for 100 (48.1%) patients and represented 19.8% of all prescribed medications. A total of 231 potential DDIs were found among the patients giving a mean of 1.3 interactions per patient. The most common identified drug pairs with potential interactions were ACE inhibitors - Amiloride, followed by ACE inhibitors - Hydrochlorothiazide, ACE inhibitors - ASA and ARB - Amiloride. Conclusion: Potential drug-drug interactions, though common in this study comprised mainly of minor and moderate types. Notwithstanding, physicians need to be reminded of the potential for interactions when prescribing for elderly patient

Self-medication among health workers in a tertiary institution in South-West Nigeria

Introduction: inappropriate self-medication results in wastage of resources, resistance to pathogen and generally entails serious health hazard. This study was undertaken to determine the knowledge, practice and reasons for practice of self-medication among health workers in a Nigerian tertiary institution. Methods: this was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted among staff of Federal Medical Center Ido-Ekiti, Nigeria. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 305 respondents that were interviewed via a pretested semi-structured questionnaire. Analysis was done using SPSS version 15 and while chi-square test was used to test significance between variables, significant (p value set<0.05). Results: among the 305 respondents interviewed, the age range was 18-52yrs with greater proportion being males (51.8%). Majority of respondents were aware of self-medication (94.8%), but only 47.2% had good knowledge of it. Reasons for practicing self-medication were financial problem (10.8%), mild sickness (10.8%), lack of time (13.4%), knowledge of diagnosis (5.6%), convenience (2.3%) and non-availability of doctors (3.0%). The drugs used by respondents without prescription included analgesics (38.2%), antibiotics (19.0%) anti-malaria drugs (13.3%), and others (29.4%). Conditions for which respondents self-medicated were body pains (14.9%), catarrh (14.9%), headache (14.3%), sore throat (11.5%), diarrhea (11.2%), fever (9.0%) and toothache (5.6%). Conclusion: the study demonstrates that the prevalence of self-medication is relatively high. There is need for health education on the implication and danger of self-medication. There is also need for government to pass and enforce law to restrict free access to drugs.The Pan African Medical Journal 2016;2

WORKERS WILLINGNESS TO DONATE HUMAN BIOLOGICAL SAMPLE FOR FUTURE RESEARCH IN A SOUTH WESTERN NIGERIAN TERTIARY HEALTH CENTER

ABSTRACT Introduction: Human biological material is recognized as an important tool in research, an

Knowledge and Willingness to Utilize Hepatitis B Preventive Measures among Pregnant Women in Ado-Ekiti, Southwest, Nigeria

Introduction. Mother-to-child transmission remains an important mode of transmission of hepatitis B infection particularly in endemic areas. The knowledge and practices of pregnant women about mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of hepatitis B virus (HBV) may influence the uptake of strategies to reduce mother-to-child transmission of infection. Objectives. This study assessed the knowledge and willingness to uptake hepatitis B virus infection preventive services among pregnant women in Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. Methods. This was a cross-sectional study that involved 373 pregnant women at the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH) and Maternal Child Specialist Clinics, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was used to assess their knowledge, practices, and perceptions about MTCT of hepatitis B infection. Results. Only 52.5% (196) of the respondents had good knowledge, although the majority 290 (77.7%) had heard of hepatitis B infection prior to the survey. Only 147 (39.4%) of the respondents had ever had hepatitis B screening. More persons with professional jobs had good knowledge about hepatitis B infection compared with other occupations (p<0.001). However, more respondents aged 30–34 years had poor knowledge about hepatitis B infection compared with other age groups (p=0.045). Respondents with good knowledge about hepatitis B infection were willing to uptake hepatitis B infection prevention services (p<0.001) Conclusion. This study showed that respondents with professional jobs had good knowledge about hepatitis B infection and those who had good knowledge about the infection were willing to utilize hepatitis B preventive measures. Awareness of MTCT of HBV did not translate into good practice as only few respondents had screened for hepatitis B. There is a need to intensify education about modes of transmission of hepatitis B infection with an emphasis on promoting good preventive practices

Short-term COVID-19 vaccine adverse effects among adults in Ekiti State, Nigeria

Background: The safety of the COVID-19 vaccines has been a topic of concern globally. This issue of safety is associated with vaccine hesitancy due to concerns about the adverse effects of the vaccines. Consequently, this study determined the short-term safety profile of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study conducted between May and July 2021 among individuals who had received the first dose of the first batch of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH), Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. A Google form was used to collect data on the adverse effects of the vaccine. Results: Out of over 1,000 individuals who were approached, 758 respondents completed the study. A large percentage (57.4%) of those who received the vaccines were healthcare workers. Adverse effects were reported in 70.8% of the participants with most manifesting on the first day of the vaccination. The predominant adverse effects were injection site soreness (28.5%), followed by fatigue (18.7%) and muscle pain (8.6%). There was no report of severe adverse effects such as anaphylactic reactions, thrombosis, myocarditis, transient myelitis, or Guillen-Barre syndrome. Conclusion: This study found that self-reported adverse effects of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine were mild and short in duration. This outcome has promising implications for improving COVID-19 vaccine uptake in the immediate environment and Nigeria