The Nigerian postgraduate medical journal
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Extremity injuries are common in polytrauma, which remains a leading cause of death, long hospitalisation and disability for all ages. There are few research works on the pattern of these extremity injuries in Lagos, Nigeria. ⋯ Lower extremity injuries were commoner than upper extremity injuries in polytrauma. Majority of them had multiple fractures especially among bones that have close anatomical location. Head injury was the most commonly associated injury.
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Niger Postgrad Med J · Dec 2007
ReviewMass casualty incidents and disasters in Nigeria: The need for better management strategies.
The aim of this article is to discuss principles involved in disaster management, disasters in Nigeria, examine the current level of preparedness in the country and make recommendations for improvement. ⋯ There is need for a strong political will from government at all levels regarding disaster management in order to mitigate its occurrence and impact.
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Niger Postgrad Med J · Dec 2007
Pattern of the cases seen in the accident and emergency department in a Nigerian Tertiary Hospital over a period of twelve months.
There is a dearth of information on emergency medical services in Nigeria. This study was conducted to determine the age, sex distribution and the pattern of patient presentation in the Accident and Emergency Department of a Nigeria teaching hospital. ⋯ The largest proportion of patient were in the active third decade of life. Trauma is the commonest cause of presentation in the Accident and Emergency Department. A significant proportion of patients do not require admission. The doctor in the Accident and Emergency Department must be skilled in basic trauma care.
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Niger Postgrad Med J · Dec 2007
A three-year review of mortality patterns in the medical wards of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Nigeria.
The pattern of morbidity and mortality reflects the burden of disease in a particular community. This pattern shows geographic variations between communities and countries. The knowledge of the pattern of diseases and their contribution to mortality in a given country is very important in evaluating its health care delivery system. Such knowledge is important for health planning and for improving the healthcare services in that particular nation. We set out to study the mortality pattern in our medical wards. ⋯ Mortality in the medical wards reflects the emerging trend of mixed disease spectrum burden comprising communicable and non communicable diseases. Public health education, raising the socio-economic status of our people as well as improving the standards of our health care facilities and personnel would prevent a large proportion of deaths from medical wards.