African journal of medicine and medical sciences
-
A forty-eight year-old male with amoebic liver abscess became encephalopathic 3 days following oral metronidazole. Withdrawal of the drug led to prompt resolution of all encephalopathic symptoms.
-
The literature on breast cancer in sub-Saharan women is reviewed. In general, breast cancer is the second most common malignancy of women in the region, after cancer of the uterine cervix. ⋯ Absence of health educational programmes on cancer as well as lack of screening facilities in nearly all countries in the region are contributory factors to the late presentation of the cases. The need for more in-depth studies of the disease in the black African population has been highlighted.
-
This is a cross-sectional study of first and final year clinical students of the University of Ibadan, aimed at highlighting the students' preference for specialties, its evolution in the course of training and its correlation with demographic variables. One hundred and twenty-one first year clinical and 150 final year students participated, representing 81% and 89% response rates, respectively. Whereas at the time of study 92.9% of the students intended to specialise, over 81% of this group opted for surgery, internal medicine, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology and general practice. ⋯ Specialty choice, evident before entry into the University in 42.9% of the cohort, evolved during the course of training, being affected mainly by interest aroused during the postings and the need for self-fulfilment. Specialty choice tended to fluctuate over the years. Innovativeness and dedication on the part of teachers can arouse the interest of students during posting, so that specialty choice can be more evenly spread to meet national health manpower needs.
-
A 60-year old man with intracranial space occupying lesion, presented with difficulty in intubation at induction of anaesthesia. Several attempts at direct tracheal intubation were made until the airway was finally secured. ⋯ He presented for re-operation with worse signs of raised intracranial pressure which may accompany repeated attempts at intubation, a planned translaryngeal guided intubation was employed to secure the airway. Where fibreoptic laryngoscope is unavailable and difficult tracheal intubation is envisaged, translaryngeal guided intubation may save time and reduce morbidity of prolonged and repeated attempts at tracheal intubation.
-
A retrospective study of the pattern of paediatric deaths at the children's emergency room (CHER) of the University College Hospital, Ibadan revealed a steady decline from 208 per 1000 admissions in 1978 to 179 per 1000 admissions in 1986. The study, however, showed that one in every five children admitted to the CHER died over the study period 1978, and 1981-1986. Measles has the highest proportionate death rate of 13.1% and it shares the highest fatality rate of 32.6% with tetanus. ⋯ The age distribution of the children who died shows that the highest proportion was in the age group 1-2 yr. The use of the proportion of deaths of children in the 1-2 yr age group as a more reliable index for assessing the health status of a community is discussed. Also discussed is the preponderance of males over females in emergency admissions.