Doctors' and Nurses' Knowledge and Perceived Barriers Regarding Acute Oxygen Therapy in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Nigeria.

Purpose: Oxygen may cause serious consequences when administered wrongly. This study aimed to assess doctors' and nurses' knowledge of acute oxygen therapy and perceived delivery barriers.

Participants And Methods: We conducted a cross sectional study among 202 healthcare providers (134 doctors and 68 nurses) in a Nigerian hospital.

Prevalence, Knowledge, and Attitudes among Health Professions Students toward the Use of Electronic Cigarettes.

Healthcare professionals are standing against the widespread use of e-cigarettes among the population, especially young adults. E-cigarettes are generally introduced, especially via social media platforms, as a safer alternative to conventional cigarette smoking. The aim of this study was to measure the prevalence of e-cigarette use among healthcare professions students at the University of Jordan, as well as to explore their knowledge and attitudes toward the use of e-cigarettes.

Post-operative Analgesic and Opioid-sparing Effect of a Single-dose Pre-operative Oral Pregabalin in Gynaecological Surgeries.

Background: Post-operative pain treatment is a major challenge in our environment. Opioids may cause respiratory depression post-operatively. Therefore, any combination of opioid and non-opioid analgesics that provides quality post-operative pain control and reduces opioid consumption with its attendant side effects will be highly desirable.

Racial and Socioeconomic Disparities in the Utilization of TKA Among Patients with Posttraumatic Knee Osteoarthritis: Estimates from the United States National Inpatient Sample, 2011-2018.

Unlabelled: Advanced posttraumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) of the knee is a cause of substantial disability, particularly in younger individuals, and the treatment of choice is total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Racial and socioeconomic disparities exist in the use of TKA, but, to our knowledge, there have been no studies examining these disparities among patients with PTOA.

Methods: We performed chi-square and logistic regression analyses on data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS).

A Rare Case of Pancreatic Schwannoma.

Pancreatic schwannoma is a neuroendocrine cell tumor that arises in the pancreas. It is very rare, and, to date, only fewer than 70 similar cases have been reported in the literature. Here, we present another case of this type of tumor in a 68-year-old female.

Effect of spinal anesthesia on QT interval: Comparative study of severe pre-eclamptic and normotensive parturients undergoing cesarean section.

Aim: This study aimed to compare the effect of spinal anesthesia on QT interval in severe pre-eclamptic and normotensive parturients who underwent cesarean section in a Nigerian tertiary hospital.

Patients And Methods: Twelve-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) was obtained before, and at intervals after spinal anaesthesia on fifty severe pre-eclamptic (Group A) and fifty normotensive parturients (Group B) who underwent caesarean section. The effect of spinal anaesthesia on QT interval was compared.

ALKBH5 Regulates SPHK1-Dependent Endothelial Cell Angiogenesis Following Ischemic Stress.

Background: Endothelial cells dysfunction has been reported in many heart diseases including acute myocardial infarction, and atherosclerosis. The molecular mechanism for endothelial dysfunction in the heart is still not clearly understood. We aimed to study the role of mA RNA demethylase alkB homolog 5 (ALKBH5) in ECs angiogenesis during ischemic injury.

Myofibroblast-Derived Exosome Induce Cardiac Endothelial Cell Dysfunction.

Endothelial cells (ECs) play a critical role in the maintenance of vascular homeostasis and in heart function. It was shown that activated fibroblast-derived exosomes impair cardiomyocyte function in hypertrophic heart, but their effect on ECs is not yet clear. Thus, we hypothesized that activated cardiac fibroblast-derived exosomes (FB-Exo) mediate EC dysfunction, and therefore modulation of FB-exosomal contents may improve endothelial function.

mRNA modifications in cardiovascular biology and disease: with a focus on m6A modification.

Among several known RNA modifications, N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most studied RNA epitranscriptomic modification and controls multiple cellular functions during development, differentiation, and disease. Current research advancements have made it possible to examine the regulatory mechanisms associated with RNA methylation and reveal its functional consequences in the pathobiology of many diseases, including heart failure. m6A methylation has been described both on coding (mRNA) and non-coding RNA species including rRNA, tRNA, small nuclear RNA and circular RNAs.

Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt-Associated Ascites: A Case Report.

A ventriculoperitoneal shunt is a commonly performed procedure that is used to relieve the increased intracranial pressure in patients with hydrocephalus. VP shunt placement is an invasive procedure and carries many complications. Besides common complications like infections or mechanical obstruction, VP shunt has been found to be associated with the development of ascites in some patients.

Acute Oxygen Therapy on Hospital Wards in Low Middle-Income Country: Experience from a Referral Centre in Ilorin, Nigeria.

Background: Oxygen is like any other medication that can cause severe consequences if administered inappropriately.

Objective: To audit the pattern of acute oxygen therapy on regular hospital wards of a referral centre in Ilorin, Nigeria.

Methods: We reviewed 150 patients that received or had a prescription for acute oxygen therapy in three months and extracted relevant information using a proforma.

Development and validation of a questionnaire to assess the doctors and nurses knowledge of acute oxygen therapy.

Background: Prescription and administration of oxygen in emergencies by healthcare providers are reported to be inappropriate in most settings. There is a huge gap in the knowledge of health care providers on various aspects of oxygen therapy, and this may be a barrier to optimal oxygen administration. Hence, it is essential to ascertain providers' knowledge of acute oxygen therapy so that appropriate educational interventions are instituted for better delivery.

Fluoroscopic-guided sacroiliac, joint injections for treatment of chronic axial low back pain in a tertiary Hospital in Nigeria: a preliminary study.

Background: The injection of mixture of plain bupivacaine and triamcinolone acetonide into the sacroiliac joint (SIJ) to relieve chronic low back pain is uncommon in the West African sub-region. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the efficacy or otherwise of fluoroscopic-guided SI joint injection in the management of chronic axial low back pain in Nigeria.

Design: This was a prospective observational interventional study.

Unilateral Lower Extremity Pain Due to Malignancy Managed With Cordotomy: A Case Report.

Unlabelled: Cancer pain management is comprehensive, and it generally begins with pharmacotherapy in a step-wise approach per analgesic guidelines established decades ago by the World Health Organization. This analgesic ladder involves the prescribing of co-analgesics, adjuvants, and opioids, with each step depending on pain severity. Although the majority of cancer pain responds to this strategy, there exist patients who do not respond adequately or experience significant side effects or intolerance to pain medications.

Opioid prescribing habits of physicians in Kwara State, Nigeria.

Objective: Although opioid analgesics are effective in the treatment of moderate to severe acute, cancer and chronic non-malignant pains, they are under-prescribed in Nigeria. The objective of this study was to assess the prescription pattern of opioids among physicians in a north central State, Nigeria..

Fluoroscopic-guided supra-scapular nerve block in the management of shoulder pain in a Nigerian Teaching Hospital: Report of five cases.

Shoulder pain complaints are common in our environment. The disorder can occur among the young active age group or in the older patients as a result of degenerative changes with its attendant limitations of the function of the affected upper limb, hindrance of the performance of activities of daily living, and reduced quality of life. The traditional oral analgesics, physiotherapy, and intra-articular corticosteroid injections are seldom ineffective at providing the desired pain relief and functional improvement at the shoulder joint.

Non-communicable disease training for public health workers in low- and middle-income countries: lessons learned from a pilot training in Tanzania.

Background: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are increasing worldwide. A lack of training and experience in NCDs among public health workers is evident in low- and middle- income countries.

Methods: We describe the design and outcomes of applied training in NCD epidemiology and control piloted in Tanzania that included a 2-week interactive course and a 6-month NCD field project.

Outcomes of intensive care management of traumatic brain injury in a resource-challenged tertiary health centre.

Background: Improved surgical care and protocol-driven intensive care interventions for head injured patients have contributed to the overall reduction in mortality in developed countries. The aim of this study is to highlight the clinical outcomes of patients with severe traumatic brain injury managed in the multispecialty ICU of our institution.

Study Design: The medical records of all patients with severe TBI managed in our 3-bedded non-dedicated ICU over a 24-month period were reviewed.

Introducing interventional pain services in a large african teaching hospital: challenges and opportunities.

There is a need for interventional pain management in the developing world; however, there are many barriers to the introduction of interventional pain therapies. This brief report describes one approach to the introduction of interventional pain medicine to a Nigerian teaching hospital. Although many barriers exist, interventional pain medicine can be brought to the developing world, as demonstrated in this case series.

Evaluation of the cardiovascular stimulation effects after induction of anaesthesia with ketamine.

Background: Ketamine is a common anaesthetic agent for surgical procedures in both paediatric and adult populations in our environment. In polytraumatised patients its cardio-stimulatory effects may be advantageous in supporting the cardiovascular system while awaiting the clinical effects of on-going resuscitative interventions. However, its clinical uses cause significant cardiovascular stimulations that may be deleterious in patients with cardiovascular diseases.

Molecular characterization of relatedness among colour variants of Asian Arowana (Scleropages formosus).

Morphological identification of fish taxa can sometimes prove difficult because phenotypic variation is either being affected by environmental factors, phenotypic characters are highly conserved or marker selection has been inappropriate. DNA based markers especially neutral mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have been used widely in recent times to provide better resolution of systematic relationships among vertebrate taxa. The Asian Arowana (Scleropages formosus) is a high value ornamental fish belonging to the family Osteoglossidae with a number of different colour variants distributed geographically across different locations around Southeast Asia.