The Nigerian postgraduate medical journal
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Niger Postgrad Med J · Oct 2020
ReviewRoutine slit lamp examination procedures: A risk for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection to eye care professionals.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a highly infectious coronavirus, has been rapidly spreading after its surge in China in December 2019. It is currently a global pandemic. A myriad of transmission routes have been documented, however established thus far, are respiratory droplet, contact and airborne transmissions. ⋯ The authors found it pertinent to articulate this narrative review article to guide slit lamp examination practice by ECPs during routine ophthalmic evaluation, with a view to reducing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 to ECPs. In conclusion, ECPs are at increased risk of infection due to high-risk scenarios for routine slit lamp examination procedures of the eye. Adherence to standard precautionary measures with slit lamp use is highly recommended.
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Niger Postgrad Med J · Oct 2020
Clinical characteristics, predictors of symptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 and duration of hospitalisation in a cohort of 632 Patients in Lagos State, Nigeria.
The clinical spectrum of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is still evolving. This study describes the clinical characteristics and investigates factors that predict symptomatic presentation and duration of hospitalisation in a cohort of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients managed in Lagos, Nigeria. ⋯ Most individuals had no symptoms with comorbidities increasing the likelihood of symptoms. Older age was associated with longer duration of hospitalisation. Age and comorbidities should be used for COVID-19 triaging for efficient resource allocation.
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Niger Postgrad Med J · Oct 2020
Epidemiological determinants of COVID-19 infection and mortality: A study among patients presenting with severe acute respiratory illness during the pandemic in Bihar, India.
The study was designed to explore epidemiological characteristics, determinants of COVID-19 infection development and mortality of patients presenting with severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) to a tertiary care health facility of Bihar. ⋯ Risk of COVID-19 infection among the study participants was high. Age, gender and co-morbidities increased the risk of infection. COVID-19 infection negatively impacted the treatment outcome of the study participants. Age, co-morbidity and ICU requirement were the other attributes affecting mortality.
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Niger Postgrad Med J · Jul 2020
Use of psychoactive substances among patients presenting at the emergency department of a tertiary hospital.
Psychoactive substance use is frequently encountered in hospitals' emergency departments (EDs). It accounts for major health-care problems frequently leading to accident and ED admissions, yet it is frequently unidentified. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and pattern of psychoactive substance use among patients presenting in the Accident and EDs and to compare the case detection rate of psychoactive substance use between self-report questionnaire and biochemical markers (e.g., urine toxicology). ⋯ The prevalence of drug use recorded among attendees of the accident and emergency unit was high in this study. The UDT significantly detected more patients who used psychoactive substances compared to self-report (P < 0.001). Several patients with major health problems as a result of psychoactive substance use were identified with the aid of these screening tools.
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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic began in China with a group of severe pneumonia cases, later identified to be caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in December 2019. Thailand reported the first COVID-19 case outside of China on 13th January 2020, Africa reported its first case in Egypt on 14th February 2020 and Nigeria reported its index case of COVID-19 on 27th February 2020. Virtually, all countries in the world are affected, with over 5 million cases reported globally. ⋯ The pandemic has had a severe effect on health systems globally, including an unintended disruption in the service delivery of other diseases. It has the potential to disrupt the weak health system in Nigeria significantly. As such, a combination of non-pharmaceutical preventive measures that are cost-effective needs to be scaled up to prevent it from further weakening the existing health system.