Publications by authors named "Opeyemi Awofeso"
Article Synopsis
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI) significantly impacts victims, and understanding its prevalence, demographics, and causes is crucial for developing effective prevention and management strategies.
- A study conducted at Lagos University Teaching Hospital analyzed data from 125 adult TBI patients, revealing a high male-to-female ratio and a mean age of about 41 years, with 67.2% of injuries resulting from road traffic accidents.
- The findings indicate that most patients lack health insurance, highlighting the need for expanded national health coverage to better support individuals suffering from TBI.
Background: Research on concurrent parent and patient-reported outcomes has primarily focused on reaching agreement. However, little is known about how to interpret and address discrepancies, which are not uncommon, between both viewpoints.
Objectives: To explore parents' perspectives on reporting about child symptoms and quality of life (QoL) concurrently with their child in the context of pediatric advanced cancer.
To explore the association between COVID-19-related cancer treatment cancellations and the psychological health of cancer patients in Nigeria. We analyzed data collected from 15 outpatient cancer clinics, comprising 1,097 patients between April to July 2020. Study outcome was ten psychological impacts, including feeling down, stressed, and unable to access treatment due to COVID-19 (used as continuous and categorical variable (0-3,4-7,8+ events).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) is a relatively new treatment technique in sub-Saharan Africa. Although craniospinal irradiation (CSI) in the pediatric population has been practiced in Nigeria for many years, the use of VMAT to deliver this treatment is previously undocumented. We reviewed the first set of patients to undergo CSI at a cancer center in Nigeria, detailing the treatment technique, the progress experienced, dose statistics achieved, treatment toxicities, and cancer outcomes to date.
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- Radiation therapy is a critical component in treating pediatric cancer, with advances improving both effectiveness and safety over the last 50 years.
- The improvements in treatment have resulted in better survival rates and fewer side effects, but they require substantial investment in resources and expertise.
- This review focuses on the state of pediatric radiation oncology in Nigeria and aims to guide the development of specific solutions to enhance the availability and fairness of radiation treatment for children with cancer in the region.
Background: Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Haemorrhage (aSAH) is a vascular injury with significantly high mortality, especially when poorly managed. This study seeks to outline the experiences in setting up a neurovascular service in Lagos, Nigeria.
Methods: A series of 45 patients were operated after aSAH over a period of 10 years.
Context: Electronic patient-reported outcomes (e-PROs) in pediatric oncology may be useful to track patients' symptoms and quality of life (QoL). However, implementation in the clinical setting is limited and few studies have examined child and parent perspectives on e-PRO usage.
Objectives: This brief report aims to explore child and parent perspectives on the benefits of using e-PROs to routinely report on symptoms and QoL.
Article Synopsis
- - The study investigated how COVID-19 impacted telehealth for cancer patients in Nigeria, analyzing data from over 1,000 patients across 15 outpatient clinics between April and July 2020.
- - Findings revealed that 12.6% of patients had their routine follow-ups changed to virtual visits, with significant associations found among those who had surgical and treatment delays or less frequent interactions with healthcare providers.
- - The conclusion highlighted the increased reliance on virtual care during the pandemic, particularly among patients facing treatment disruptions, emphasizing the need for ongoing research into teleoncology in Nigeria.
The number of cancer patients in Nigeria continues to rise; however, global advances in cancer research are making the provision of optimal care possible. Cancer management is globally agreed to be multidisciplinary, with patients now having the right to benefit from progress in systemic cancer therapy and radio-diagnosis by receiving treatment from adequately trained and highly skilled clinical and radiation oncologists. Radiation oncology is part of the three divisions that make up oncology - medical oncology, surgical oncology and radiation oncology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The quality of a physician is arguably related to the depth and quality of medical education received. As cancer devastates the health and economy of developing countries like Nigeria, it becomes increasingly important for physicians in these countries to be equipped with basic knowledge and skill to adequately detect, diagnose, refer and manage common cancers. This study reviewed exposure to oncology training as a component of the medical school's curriculum in Nigeria from the trainee's perspective.
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- The global COVID-19 pandemic led to changes in health care delivery, prompting a study on how these modifications impacted oncology services in Nigeria.
- Researchers surveyed 1,072 cancer patients across 15 treatment centers, revealing that 17.3% experienced disruptions in care and over half faced difficulties accessing treatment.
- The findings indicated that vulnerable groups, particularly older patients and those with prostate cancer, were most affected, highlighting the need for policies to reduce service disruptions while ensuring patient safety during the pandemic.
Introduction: inadequate pain control negatively impacts the quality of life of patients with cancer while potentially affecting the outcome. Proper pain evaluation and management are therefore considered an important treatment goal. This study assessed the prevalence of pain, the prescribing patterns, and the efficacy of pain control measures in cancer patients at the Radiation Oncology Unit of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Diagnosis and treatment of cancer rely heavily on imaging, histopathology and molecular information. Incomplete or missing tumour information can hinder the delivery of high-quality care in oncology practice, especially in resource-limited countries. To evaluate the completeness of histopathology reporting in a real-world setting and identify areas for future cancer care delivery research efforts, we retrospectively analysed reports from patients diagnosed with breast cancer who received care at a high-volume oncology department at a hospital in Lagos, Nigeria.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The current situation regarding the scope and contribution of undergraduate medical research to the health space in Nigeria is still largely unreported in formal literature. This study examined the knowledge, attitudes, and the perceived barriers faced by medical students in Lagos toward research.
Materials And Methods: A cross-sectional study design was conducted among all medical students in 200-600 levels of study at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos.
Background: Antimicrobial resistance, a global problem, is mostly a consequence of misuse or overuse of antimicrobials. This study sought to audit the compliance to hospital antimicrobial policy and determine the ability of medical students to carry out audits.
Methodology: This was a retrospective study to determine compliance with departmental policies in the preceding 2 months in the Children's Emergency Room (ChER) using a checklist.
Background: Cervical and breast cancers are the most common cancers among women in developing countries contributing to high morbidity and mortality. Even though both these cancers have a better prognosis if caught early; however, studies conducted in Nigeria still show a large incidence of late tumor stage presentation.
Objectives: This study aimed at identifying the patient and disease characteristics of women with breast and cervical cancers presenting at a tertiary medical facility in Nigeria, with emphasis on the prevalence of late-stage presentation and reasons for late-stage presentation.
Purpose: Diagnosis and treatment of cancer are associated with significant psychological distress, and patients face a broad range of challenges that create a vacuum of unmet needs felt by patients, such as a loss of personal control and frustration. The aim of the current study was to determine the magnitude, distribution, and correlates of unmet needs in Nigerian patients with cancer.
Patients And Methods: Using a descriptive cross-sectional approach, we assessed 205 patients with cancer who attended oncology outpatient clinics at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital.
Background: There is inequity and maldistribution of the surgical workforce in Nigeria. Most specialists practice in second- and third-level hospitals often located in urban or semi-urban areas. A knowledge of the proposed choice of practice location of surgical trainees and the factors that influence the choice could provide insight into future surgical coverage and help in planning and policy-making.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Comorbidities have been indicated to influence cancer care and outcome, with strong associations between the presence of comorbidities and patient survival. The objective of this study is to determine the magnitude and pattern of comorbidities in Nigerian cancer populations, and demonstrate the use of comorbidity indices in predicting mortality/survival rates of cancer patients.
Methods: Using a retrospective study design, data were extracted from hospital reports of patients presenting for oncology care between January 2015 and December 2016 at two tertiary health facilities in Lagos, Nigeria.