Transmission transmissible hepatitis B virus markers of infection among sickle cell disease patients receiving care at a tertiary health facility in Ibadan, southwest Nigeria.

Introduction: Hepatitis B virus infection attacks the liver and can cause both acute and chronic disease. Sickle cell disease (SCD) patients are at risk of transmission transmissible viral hepatitis due to their constant need for blood transfusion. However, these patients could have been infected with HBV but may not know their status due to asymptomatic nature of the infection.

A CASE OF PICA FOLLOWING A PARAMILITARY PRE-EMPLOYMENT ORIENTATION CAMP.

Background: Pica is an unusual craving for and ingestion of either edible or inedible substances first observed in pregnant women but has been reported in all groups of people. Pica poses a significant health risk that often requires medical attention but the awareness of pica among physicians seems to be have reduced.

Method: We report a case study of a young lady who presented with anaemia (pcv = 21%) and craving for sand.

Pattern of childhood leukaemia in University College Hospital, Ibadan.

Background: Leukaemias are haematological malignancies characterized by unregulated clonal proliferation of haematopoietic cells.

Objective: To determine the pattern of childhood leukaemia in Ibadan.

Methodology: This was a retrospective study of leukaemia cases diagnosed at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan between January 1991 and December 2010 in children less than 15 years of age.

Treatment of Burkitt lymphoma in equatorial Africa using a simple three-drug combination followed by a salvage regimen for patients with persistent or recurrent disease.

Prior to the introduction of the International Network for Cancer Treatment and Research (INCTR) protocol INCTR 03-06, survival of patients with Burkitt lymphoma at four tertiary care centres in equatorial Africa was probably no more than 10-20%. The results reported here for 356 patients have demonstrated marked improvement in survival through the use of a uniform treatment protocol consisting of cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, vincristine, and intrathecal therapy, and the introduction of non-cross resistant second-line (salvage) therapy, consisting of ifosfamide, mesna, etoposide and cytarabine, when patients failed to achieve a complete response to first-line therapy or relapsed early. Overall survival rates of 67% and 62% were observed at 1 and 2 years (relapse is rare after 1 year of remission).

Abdominal pain in adult sickle cell disease patients: a nigerian experience.

Background: Abdominal pain is a relatively frequent occurrence in sickle cell disease. The aetiology of abdominal pain in sickle cell disease is often difficult to diagnose clinically. Despite the frequent occurrence, diagnostic dilemma, and the need for an accurate, early diagnosis, abdominal pain in sickle cell disease has not been rigorously studied.

A fifteen-year review of lymphomas in a Nigerian tertiary healthcare centre.

In Africa, epidemiological data on the effect of the HIV epidemic on the occurrence of lymphomas are scanty. The 1990s witnessed the alarming rates of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. The prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria increased from 1.

Abdominal ultrasonography in HIV/AIDS patients in southwestern Nigeria.

Background: Though the major target of the HIV-virus is the immune system, the frequency of abdominal disorders in HIV/AIDS patients has been reported to be second only to pulmonary disease. These abdominal manifestations may be on the increase as the use of antiretroviral therapy has increased life expectancy and improved quality of life. Ultrasonography is an easy to perform, non invasive, inexpensive and safe imaging technique that is invaluable in Africa where AIDS is most prevalent and where sophisticated diagnostic tools are not readily available.

Detection of HIV antigen and cDNA among antibody-negative blood samples in Nigeria.

In developing countries as many as 50% of patients for whom a transfusion is indicated are at risk of dying immediately if transfusion is withheld. It is therefore important that blood transfusion is made as safe as possible. This study was designed to assess the safety of blood transfusion in two large blood banks in Ibadan, Nigeria.

Prevalence of venous thromboembolism at post-mortem in an African population: a cause for concern.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) remains a fatal complication and a frequent cause of death among patients hospitalized for remediable and often minor conditions. Various prevalence and associated risk factors of VTE have been documented in different parts of the world. It has been reported that the prevalence of VTE in Africans and Asians is not as pronounced as it is in the Caucasians.

Orofacial lesions in 126 newly diagnosed HIV/AIDS patients seen at the University College Hospital, Ibadan.

Human immune deficiency virus (HIV) infection is one of the most devastating infection in modern times. Oral manifestations of HIV infection occur in approximately 30-80% of patients infected with this virus and the factors, which predispose to these lesions include: CD4 count less than 200 cells/mm, viral load, xerostomia, poor oral hygiene and smoking. These manifestations have subsequently become important entry criteria for: clinical trials of various therapeutic regimes, prophylaxis of HIV related opportunistic infections, anti-retroviral trials and vaccine studies.

Haematological profile of healthy pregnant women in Ibadan, south-western Nigeria.

There is a dearth of information on the reference values for haematological indices particularly according to the relevant trimesters of pregnant women in Nigeria. The objective of this study was to provide reference values for Nigerian pregnant women. The study took place at the Adeoyo Maternity Hospital and the University College Hospital, both in Ibadan.

Benefit of modified plasmapheresis in the management of myasthenia gravis: a case report.

Background: Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune disease condition caused by the generation of antibodies against the acetylcholine receptor sites at the neuromuscular junction. The treatment modalities include anticholinesterase drugs, corticosteroids, immunotherapy, thymectomy and plasmapheresis. However, because of the poor financial state of our patients and the dearth of appropriate equipment in our centres modifications are made to standard treatment modalities including plasmapharesis.

Guillain-Barre syndrome in a haemoglobin S patient.

A 43 year old female sickle cell anaemia patient who had a mild clinical course of the disease developed ascending paralysis, areflexia, sensory disturbance and bulbar affectation while on therapy with vitamin B12 for neurological complications of megalobalstic anaemia. She had initially presented with a history of paresthesia involving all extremities and moderate pain in both feet. Blood smear picture revealed macro-ovalocytosis and hyper-segmented neutrophils.

Association between HIV/AIDS and malignancies in a Nigerian tertiary institution.

Background: Following the outbreak of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection in 1981, there has been a widespread increase in the incidence of many malignancies including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, cervical carcinoma and Kaposi's sarcoma. The scarcity of reports linking HIV infection with malignancies in Nigeria necessitated this study. We prospectively screened one hundred patients with various forms of malignancies seen at the University College Hospital Ibadan, Nigeria between October 2001 and June 2002 for HIV infection by the Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) method and confirmed with the Western Blot method.

Bone marrow findings in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.

The cytology and culture of bone marrow aspirate in sixty-two newly diagnosed patients with pulmonary tuberculosis were studied. The findings were depressed erythroid activity in 69% of the patients, micronormoblastic changes in 18% and megaloblastic changes in 16.6%.

Hepatitis B and C viral markers in patients with sickle cell disease in Ibadan, Nigeria.

Serum samples from 180 Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) patients attending Medical Out patients (MOP) clinic of the Department of Haematology, UCH, Ibadan, Nigeria were tested for the presence of HbsAg and anti-HCV in their blood samples. The result showed that HBV infection was slightly higher (not significant) than HCV infection among SCD patients (P>0.05).

Haematological profile of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis in Ibadan, Nigeria.

The haematological indices of sixty two pre-treatment, sputum-smear-AFB positive pulmonary tuberculosis patients were examined. Haematocrit, white cell count and differentials and erythrocyte sedimentation rates (ESR) were estimated by manual methods. The heamatological parameters were compared with age and sex matched control subjects.

Levels of malaria specific immunoglobulin G in Nigerian sickle cell disease patients with and without splenomegaly.

Fifty patients with sickle cell disease(SCD) reporting for routine clinical evaluation and fifty normal individuals at the University College Hospital (UCH) community were recruited into this study. They were matched for age and sex. Patients were aged 15 to 54 years.

Waldenstrom's macrogloblinaemia: modified plasmapheresis as treatment option in a Nigeria setting.

We describe a case of Waldenströms macroglobulinaemia in a 56 year old Negroid male, to whom modified plasmapheresis/plasma exchange was offered with good control of symptomatic hyperviscosity Amelioration of the clinical status and objective assessment of response was evident by dramatic reduction in monoclonal immunoglobulins M (IgM) from 100g/L to 14.7 g/L and a fall in erythrocyte sedimentation rate from 130 mm/hr to 80 mm/hr with this therapy. This highlights the need to adopt a modification of manual plasmapheresis in the treatment of the hyperviscosity syndrome complicating this B-cell disease in this environment.

Priapism: an appraisal of surgical treatment.

The surgical outcome in 66 patients with priapism who presented at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, over a ten-year period was evaluated. Operative procedures carried out included bilateral cavernostomies in 23 patients, caverno-glandular shunts in 11, caverno spongiosal shunt in 18 and caverno-saphenous shunt in 1. Complete detumescence was achieved immediately postoperatively in all patients, however, this was not maintained.

Hodgkin's disease after treatment for Burkitt's lymphoma: case report.

Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas are interrelated disorders which have been reported to occur either simultaneously or sequentially in the same patient. We report here the development of nodular sclerosing type Hodgkin's disease in a patient two decades after successful treatment for Burkitt's lymphoma with cyclophosphomide and abdominal resection (AR). While the onset of symptoms after treatment for Burkitt's lymphoma was seven years definitive diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease was only made 22 years after the initial diagnosis of Burkitt's lymphoma.

Serum zinc, copper and magnesium in sickle cell disease at Ibadan, south western Nigeria.

Serum zinc, copper and magnesium were studied in patients with sickle cell disease in the steady state. There was significantly lower serum zinc concentration (P < 0.01) and significantly higher serum copper and magnesium in haemoglobin S patients compared with controls (HbA).

Outcome of twin pregnancies in patients with haemoglobinopathies--case reports.

Pregnancy in patients with haemoglobinopathy is associated with increased risk of maternal and perinatal morbidities and mortalities. Multiple pregnancy is potentially more hazardous than singleton pregnancy. There is a dearth of information concerning multiple pregnancies in patients with haemoglobinopathy.

Septicaemia in sickle cell anaemia patients: the Ibadan experience.

Objective: To describe the pattern of septicaemia among sickle cell anaemia patients.

Design: Descriptive study.

Setting: Haematology Day Care Unit of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.

Acceptability of prenatal diagnosis of sickle cell anaemia by a sample of the Nigerian population.

The acceptability of prenatal diagnosis (PND) as a means of controlling sickle cell anaemia (SCA) in Nigeria was examined using a semi-structured questionnaire. The aim of the study was to examine the attitudes of well-informed, educated Nigerians to the use of PND and abortion of confirmed HbSS pregnancies in the control of SCA. There were 433 respondents comprising 204 males and 210 females (gender was not recorded for 19 respondents).