Comparative Efficacy of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure and Antihypertensive Medications in Obstructive Sleep Apnea-Related Hypertension: A Narrative Review.

Introduction: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) presents a significant global health concern, affecting a substantial portion of the population, particularly among young and middle-aged adults.

Aim: This review aims to assess the efficacy of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) compared to antihypertensive medications in managing OSA-related hypertension.

Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted across multiple databases, yielding studies published from 2000 to March 2024 that investigated CPAP, antihypertensives, or their combination therapy in OSA patients.

Prognostic Utility of Modified 5-Item Frailty Index on the Outcomes of Spine Surgeries: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Frailty refers to a state of weakness that can arise due to age or illnesses, and frailty predisposes individuals to several adverse health outcomes. This has been postulated to prognosticate the outcome of various surgeries, including surgeries for various spine conditions; however, no meta-analysis has validated this finding.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the prognostic utility of frailty for the outcome of spine surgeries.

Two-stage surgical approach for type III odontoid fracture with C1-C2 fracture dislocation: a case report and management overview.

Introduction And Importance: Odontoid fractures of the second cervical vertebra (C2) are categorized into three types, with type III extending into the body of the axis. These fractures, often resulting from high-energy trauma, can cause significant instability and neurological issues. This case report discusses a 43-year-old male with a type III odontoid fracture and C1-C2 fracture dislocation, demonstrating the effectiveness of traditional neurosurgical techniques in managing such complex injuries.

The outcomes of peripheral nerve surgeries in Africa: Narrative synthesis from existing literature.

Background: In Africa, peripheral nerve pathologies are a major source of disability, and the results of surgical therapies differ greatly among countries. The goal of this narrative review is to compile the most recent data on peripheral nerve surgery results in Africa, pinpoint critical variables that affect surgical outcomes, and offer suggestions for enhancing patient care.

Methods: A comprehensive literature review was conducted, focusing on studies published over the past four decades.

Barriers and facilitators to establishing a clinical academic career in clinical education research in the UK: A focus group study.

In a rapidly changing healthcare environment, we need a robust evidence base to inform effective education and training. This study aimed to examine factors perceived to determine career progression in clinical education research in the UK. Six online focus groups were conducted, with 35 participants from a range of medical, dental, nursing, and allied health professions who identified as aspiring or early career clinical education researchers.

Optimization of surface roughness, phase transformation and shear bond strength in sandblasting process of YTZP using statistical machine learning.

Sandblasting process is often applied to roughen the intaglio of yttria tetragonal zirconia polycrystals (YTZP) surfaces for easy and quality adhesion and micro-shear retention with dentine/resin cements. Sandblasting process parameters have shown to influence, at different scales, surface roughness, phase transformation and shear bond strength, all of which are referred, herein, as performance characteristics. This study aimed to find the parametric settings of sandblasting parameters that could simultaneously optimize these performance characteristics, hypothetically testing the probability.

Retrospective Comparison of Nigeria's Emergency Response Between the 2014 Ebola Outbreak and 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic.

The 2014 Ebola Virus disease outbreak and the COVID-19 pandemic are prominent among the viral infectious diseases that threatened our existence in the last decade. We did a retrospective review of Nigeria's responses during the two crises using different keywords: . These served as discussion points, and we ended by highlighting a few salient observations that should serve as reflection, learning points, and recommendations for better responses in the future.

Determinants of Choice of Specialty by Resident Doctors: A Multi-Center Based Study in South-West Nigeria.

Background And Objectives: An appropriately balanced specialty distribution in residency training will ensure adequate coverage and delivery of essential health needs to the people. An understanding of the factors which influence doctors' career choices is important for all those involved in the training of Resident doctors. The aim of this study is to examine the factors influencing the Resident Doctors' choice of specialty.

Digital undergraduate medical education and patient and carer involvement: a rapid systematic review of current practice.

Background: Involving patients and carers in medical students' learning aims to centralise the perspective of healthcare users and supports our future medical workforce in the development of key skills. Medical schools are increasingly using digital technology for teaching and it is timely to understand how to maintain patient and carer involvement in this context.

Methods: Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE and medRxiv were searched in October 2020 and reference lists of key articles were hand searched.

A Comparative Analysis of Laboratory Parameters of Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients by Disease Severity and Mortality at a Facility in Ibadan, Nigeria.

Background: COVID-19, which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, is associated with abnormalities of biochemical parameters. There are indications that some of these biochemical parameters can differ according to the severity of the disease and the outcome of the infection. This study describes and compares laboratory findings among COVID-19 patients hospitalized at a facility in Southwestern Nigeria according to disease severity and mortality.

COVID-19 Pandemic: A Survey of its Knowledge and Risk Perception among Nigerians.

Background: The effect of the current COVID-19 pandemic on economies and health systems has been profound. Knowledge of the virus continues to evolve over time. This study aimed to assess the knowledge and the factors associated with the perceived risk of contracting COVID-19 infection during the pandemic.

EFFECT OF WORKPLACE STRESS ON THE PERCEIVED HEALTH OF RESIDENT DOCTORS IN NIGERIA.

Background: Resident doctors' health and wellbeing has recently become the focus of international concern, as they are very important members of the healthcare system. The medical workplace is a complex environment where the doctors respond differently.

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess workplace stress among the resident doctors, examine their perceived health status, and determine the effect of workplace stress on their perceived health status.

Single-dose versus multiple-dose antibiotics prophylaxis for preventing caesarean section postpartum infections: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: Caesarean section, a common obstetric surgical procedure, is a major predisposing factor for puerperal infections, requiring the need for antibiotic prophylaxis. Evidence suggests that single-dose antibiotic prophylaxis has comparable efficacy to multiple-dose antibiotic prophylaxis, but with a lower cost and risk of antibiotic resistance. However, single-dose antibiotic prophylaxis after caesarean section is not generally used in many centres in sub-Saharan Africa.

Pyomyoma in a primigravida at term: a case report.

Pyomyoma is a rare complication of uterine fibroid occurring most commonly in pregnancy, post-partum, post-abortion, and post-menopausal periods. It results from infarction, necrosis and secondary infection of leiomyoma. We report a case of 29-year-old primigravida with breech at term co-existing with cystic degenerative uterine fibroid, who presented with recurrent fever and abdominal pain.

Ultrasonographic foetal head circumference and cheek-to-cheek diameter at term as predictors of labour outcomes.

Background: The clinical uses of ultrasonography have varied and increased over time, especially the ability of ultrasonographic measured parameters to predict the outcomes of labour. The proper understanding of the association between these ultrasonographic parameters, mode of delivery, adverse maternal and foetal outcomes will further improve patient counselling as well as the planning of intrapartum care.

Aim: The study explored the ultrasonographic measurement of foetal head circumference (HC) and cheek-to-cheek diameter (CCD) at term as predictors of labour outcomes.

Vaginal fluid urea and creatinine, an untapped diagnostic tool for premature rupture of membranes.

Purpose: The diagnosis of premature rupture of membranes (PROM) can be difficult in equivocal cases. This study was designed to test the validity of vaginal fluid urea and creatinine in the diagnosis of PROM against the gold standard, the Amnisure ROM test™ METHODS: The study was a prospective observational study. All consenting eligible pregnant women between gestational ages of 28 weeks to 41 weeks + 6 days were recruited from the obstetrics emergency and antenatal clinic of the Federal medical centre, Keffi.

Determinants for Acceptance of COVID-19 Vaccine in Nigeria.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic heralded an unprecedented race to the development of several vaccine candidates at record speeds never seen in global health. Within nine months, Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine was approved by the United States FDA. Unfortunately, while these advances were ongoing, there was a burgeoning epidemic of disinformation about the virus and the vaccines that affected the willingness of people, especially minority groups, to get vaccinated.

Investigation of indentation size effect and R-curve behaviour of LiO-SiO and LiO-2SiO glass ceramics.

Indentation size effect (ISE) and R-curve behaviour of LiO-SiO and LiO-2SiO glass ceramics are investigated using micro-indentation and indentation-strength (IS) techniques, respectively. Vickers micro-indentations were applied on both materials at the load of 0.10-19.

Real-time patients' perspectives about participating in teaching consultations in primary care: A questionnaire study.

Introduction: Patients presenting with undifferentiated illnesses provide valuable learning opportunities for medical students. Evidence detailing the factors that affect patient participation in undergraduate medical education is limited. This study examines how patients regard their participation in teaching consultations in primary care.

Influence of CAD/CAM milling, sintering and surface treatments on the fatigue behavior of lithium disilicate glass ceramic.

This paper reports on the process-fatigue relation of lithium disilicate glass ceramic (LDGC) using low-cycle, high-load Hertzian indentations with a rigid indenter to simulate teeth grinding/clenching of LDGC restorations with different surface asperities obtained in CAD/CAM milling, sintering, polishing and glazing. The maximum contact stresses were evaluated as functions of the number of load cycles and surface treatments using the Hertzian model. Indentation-induced surface damage was viewed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to understand the relationships among microstructures, surface asperities, crack morphology and propagation.

Elasticity, plasticity and analytical machinability prediction of lithium metasilicate/disilicate glass ceramics.

This paper applied non-linear theory of elasticity (NLTE) to partition indentation-induced deformations into elasticity and plasticity for lithium metasilicate glass ceramic (LMGC), sintered and pressed lithium disilicate glass ceramics (SLDGC and PLDGC). It also used elastic plastic fracture mechanics (EPFM) approach to analytically predict machinability for these materials. Using the Sakai's series elastic and plastic deformation model that applied NLTE, the resistances to plasticity for LMGC, SLDGC and PLDGC were extracted from their respective indentation-extracted plane strain moduli and contact hardness values.

Cardiovascular risk factors in adult general out-patient clinics in Nigeria: a country analysis of the Africa and Middle East Cardiovascular Epidemiological (ACE) study.

Background: With globalization and rapid urbanization, demographic and epidemiologic transitions have become important determinants for the emergence of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of CVD risk factors in adult out-patients attending general practice and non-specialist clinics in urban and rural Nigeria.

Methods: As part of the Africa and Middle East Cardiovascular Epidemiological (ACE) study, a cross-sectional epidemiologic study was undertaken for the presence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, obesity, smoking and abdominal obesity in Nigeria.

A review of engineered zirconia surfaces in biomedical applications.

Zirconia is widely used for load-bearing functional structures in medicine and dentistry. The quality of engineered zirconia surfaces determines not only the fracture and fatigue behaviour but also the low temperature degradation (ageing sensitivity), bacterial colonization and bonding strength of zirconia devices. This paper reviews the current manufacturing techniques for fabrication of zirconia surfaces in biomedical applications, particularly, in tooth and joint replacements, and influences of the zirconia surface quality on their functional behaviours.