Outcome of emergency caesarean sections in Calabar, Nigeria: Impact of the seniority of the medical team.

We set out to assess the maternal outcome of emergency caesarean sections in University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) in relationship to the seniority and experience of medical personnel involved in the operation. This was a review of 349 cases of emergency caesarean sections in UCTH over a 2-year period (January 2000-December 2001). The sociodemographic data, antenatal booking status and clinical condition of the patients as well as the seniority of the medical staff who participated in the operations were extracted from the case notes of the patients.

Prediction formulae for lung function parameters in females of south eastern Nigeria.

This study was carried out to obtain normal lung function values for women in south eastern Nigeria with a view to establishing prediction equations for forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume at the first second (FEV(1)) and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR). Lung function values were measured in 600 apparently healthy Nigerian women aged between 18 and 57 years. FVC and FEV1 were significantly related to height [P < 0.

Lung function, oxygen saturation and symptoms among street sweepers in calabar-Nigeria.

Chronic inhalation of dust impairs lung function and may cause respiratory symptoms. However, knowledge about the type of dust that can cause these problems is uncertain. Very little attention has been paid to the health of workers chronically exposed to dust raised by street sweeping without precautionary measures.

Male-female (sex) differences in leprosy patients in south eastern Nigeria: females present late for diagnosis and treatment and have higher rates of deformity.

A study was undertaken to investigate the possibility that female leprosy patients in South Eastern Nigeria may be at a disadvantage with regard to early presentation for diagnosis and the prevention of disability. A hospital-based retrospective examination of case notes for the period 1988-1997 was undertaken, totalling 2309 adult patients of whom 1527 (66 degrees/a) were male and 782 (33%) were female (confirming the usual 2:1 male:female ratio for this disease). Data were collected on 1) the clinical type of leprosy, 2) the interval between the onset of symptoms or signs and presentation for diagnosis and treatment and 3) the patterns of physical deformity/disability.

Recognition of the difficult airway in normal Nigerian adults (a prospective study).

Difficulty with laryngoscopy and intubation is known to be the most frequent cause of anaesthetic related deaths. Awareness of the possibility of difficulty would enable the anaesthetist to be adequately prepared. 57 "normal" adult patients were examined pre-operatively and at laryngoscopy using the Mallampatti (1985) and the Cormack (1984) classification respectively.