Tropical Journal of Health Sciences

Cross-sectional Study of the knowledge, attitude, and preventive practices towards Lassa fever among Residents of Karu, Abuja, Nigeria

M. Eke — 2025-01-02

Lassa fever is associated with high morbidity and mortality with several laboratory-confirmed cases and deaths reported in Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT-Abuja). This study assessed the knowledge, attitude, and preventive practices towards Lassa fever among residents of Karu, Abuja, Nigeria.

A cross-sectional study design, using a multistage sampling technique, to select 210 consenting adults was used. A structured, self-administered, pre-coded, pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitude, and preventive practices towards Lassa fever. Simple proportions, univariate, bivariate and multivariate analysis were done and a p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

The knowledge of Lassa fever was high (80.9%), the attitude towards Lassa fever was positive (77.6%), and the preventive practice towards Lassa fever was also positive (73.8%). Educational qualification significantly influenced the knowledge, attitude, and preventive practices towards Lassa fever among the residents of Karu. Marital status had an association with the attitude toward Lassa fever but had no association with the knowledge and preventive practices towards Lassa fever. Gender had an association with the preventive practices towards Lassa fever but had no association with the knowledge and attitude towards Lassa fever.

There was a high knowledge, attitude and practice of prevention of Lassa fever requiring sustained health education, public awareness campaigns, community sensitization on the importance of early healthcare-seeking behaviour, continuous monitoring and evaluation of the preventive practices towards Lassa fever in Karu to sustain the gains.

Profile of persons affected by leprosy residing in a leprosarium: a tool for understanding their challenges

I. O. Amole — 2025-01-02

Leprosy is a neglected tropical disease, found in more than 120 countries, and affects over 200,000 people every year in the world. It is directly related to unfavorable socioeconomic conditions and social vulnerability. Because of the permanent and progressive deformities associated with the disease and the fear of the spread of the disease many Persons Affected by Leprosy (PALs) are confined to a leper colony where they face a lot of challenges that affect their quality of life. They should therefore not be neglected by the government and the communities. This work aims to study the sociodemographic profile of PALs at Baptist Health Service in Ogbomoso in order to understand their challenges and the types of help that they may need. A convenient sampling was used in this descriptive study to recruit 29 PALs who consented to the study between March and May 2023 at Baptist Health Service in Ogbomoso. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to obtain the socio-demographic information. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 26 was used for data analysis. Almost one-half were married (44.8%) and more than one-half were female (52.7%). The majority of them had no formal education (62.1%), subsistence farming (41.4%) was the main occupation and nearly one- half of them were from Oyo State (41.4%). Therefore, there is a need to understand the profile of the PALs residing in various Leper Colonies, to understand the challenges that they are facing. This knowledge will help the government and the communities have a concrete plan to help them overcome their challenges and improve their quality of life.

Determinants of self-medication among undergraduate students of Bayero University Kano

D. Micah — 2025-01-02

In Nigeria, most drugs can be obtained from pharmacies without a professional prescription, and despite the prevalence of self-medication, few comprehensive studies have been conducted to assess this practice. This study was carried out to evaluate the determinants of self-medication among undergraduate students of Bayero University Kano.

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 384 undergraduate university students using a self-administered questionnaire from February to March 2024. Simple random sampling was used to select study participants. Data were collected using the self-administered questionnaire and analyzed with SPSS version 27. Chi-square test was employed in data analysis, with P<0.05 considered statistically significant.

The prevalence of self-medication within the study period was 52.6% among the respondents (54.9% among males and 50.0% among females). Results of the study further showed that being a medical student (p< 0.001), department of study (p < 0.001), level of parent education (p = 0.023) and the type of health insurance coverage (p = 0.006) were the significant factors shown to be associated with self-medication practice. Antimalaria (76.9%), antibiotics (60.2%) and analgesics (53.3%) were the most common drugs used in self-medication. Headache (69.2%), Malaria (63.4%), Cough and flu (44.5%) were the most common indication for self-medication among the students.

More than half of the respondents engage in self-medication, highlighting the necessity of raising public awareness on the subject. The weak enforcement of medicine regulations, as well as easy accessibility to prescription-only medicine, needs to be addressed by the appropriate authorities to prevent potential harm.

Change in prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components over twenty-four months post-HAART among human immunodeficiency virus positive patients in North-Western Nigeria

B. Aminu — 2025-01-02

Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) serves as an important epidemiologic tool for identifying people at risk for developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes. Antiretroviral drugs have reduced mortality and increased longevity among patients living with HIV disease. We aimed to determine the prevalence and change in MetS among HIV-positive patients pre- and post-HAART over 2 years.

This was a prospective study conducted at the Institute of Human Virology of Nigeria (IHVN) Centers of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH) and Specialist Hospital Sokoto (SHS) in Sokoto metropolis for two years. Eighty-six (86) HIV seropositive HAART-naïve patients were recruited at entry before commencing them on HAART and eighty-six (86) healthy controls for comparison at the baseline. The data were checked, entered into an Excel spreadsheet, and exported into Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23 for analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the study population with MetS, and an independent t-test was used to determine the characteristics of MetS components among the study population. A one-way ANOVA was used to determine the mean difference of components of MetS among patients with and without MetS. Chi-square methods were used to assess the association of MetS with gender. P values <0.05 were taken as statistically significant.

Out of one hundred and seventy-two (172) subjects recruited, eighty-six cases and controls were diagnosed with MetS, 15 (17.4%) and 16 (18.6%) of cases at baseline and controls, respectively. The prevalence of MetS at six months through twenty-four months was 34 (40.5%), 31 (36.9%), 28 (33.3%), and 33 (39.3%), respectively.

The prevalence of MetS has significantly increased after commencing HAART from six months through twenty-four months. MetS is associated with TG, HDL-C, FBG, blood pressure, and anthropometric parameters.

Prevalence and clinical outcomes of abdominal surgeries in a South Western Nigerian University Teaching Hospital between March 2017- October 2021

O.O. Oyediran — 2025-01-02

Abdominal surgeries constitute a striking portion of surgeons' clinical experience and often present diagnostic and treatment challenges, particularly in poorly resourced environments with a lack of modern medical facilities. This study assessed predictors and outcomes of abdominal surgeries at Lagos University teaching hospital, Idi-araba. Lagos state.

A retrospective research design was adopted. Purposive sampling technique was used to collect data from patients' records. The instrument used was a structured checklist. Two hundred and seventy-eight patients' records that were obtained from the health information department of the hospital were assessed for data collection. The data collected was processed and analyzed using SPSS version 26. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to present the results of the study.

Findings revealed that one third (42.4%) of the respondents were between the age of 31- 40 years. Most prevailing abdominal surgeries was Appendectomy (33.8%) followed by colostomy (27.7%) and Herniorrhaphy (23.7%). The foremost indications for abdominal surgeries were cancer (32.4%). Clinical outcome of abdominal surgeries showed a larger percentage (65.1%) were referred to ICU after the surgery with surgical site infections as the most resultant complication. Factors influencing the outcome of the abdominal surgeries were age, gender, level of education and occupation with a p value less than 0.05. This study concluded that Appendectomy is the most prevalent abdominal surgery and majority of the patients spent first 24 hours after surgery at the intensive care unit with Surgical site infection being the major complication following abdominal surgeries.

Case Report - Giant Lipoma in the thigh managed in a rural Nigerian hospital and a rapid review of the literature

T.E. Nottidge — 2025-01-02

Lipomas are located in any location in the body in which lipomatous tissue is located, the commonest site being in the subcutaneous area and more commonly in the trunk and neck. These are the commonest benign tumours of the mesenchyme and they are composed of mature lipocytes. The age affected is usually in the fifth or sixth decade of life. They are usually small in size, often less than 2cm. They are defined as giant lipoma's when they have a diameter longer than 10cm or a weight more than 1kg. They can be single or multiple – the multiple lipomas are more common in women. The symptoms of a lipoma are usually those of pressure, often related to giant lipomata and depend on the location in the body – pain, nerve compression and lymphoedema are common. Lipoma rarely become malignant, but this complication is more common in the giant variants.

Giant lipomas are uncommon, usually present in the upper part of the body and often require advanced imaging in the preop workup to aid in the detection of any malignant transformation.

This unusual case is reported because it is scarce in the Nigerian literature, occurred in the lower limb and the patient presented at a rural hospital, where advanced imaging was not available.

A 64-year-old man who had a giant lipoma in the left thigh measuring 30 x 20 x 18 cm, was successfully treated at a rural hospital in Southern Nigeria, without the benefit of advanced imaging. He had serial sections of the huge mass, none of which revealed any sarcomatous change. Furthermore, this report highlights the need for contextually relevant treatment algorithms regarding resource constraints and a pay-from-pocket structure of health care and thus also has a patient advocacy framework.

Severe hypernatraemia in postpartum eclampsia: a case report

A.K. Ogunkunle — 2025-01-02

Eclampsia is one of the most dangerous acute complications of pregnancy, with significant morbidity and mortality. Hypernatraemia in eclampsia is rare and when it occurs, could lead to critical and potentially life-threatening complications. Hypernatraemia is a disorder of the homeostasis of body water and sodium with a net increase in serum sodium. The most dreaded clinical manifestations of ypernatraemia whether in eclampsia or not are that of the central nervous system due to brain cell shrinkage which are more in acute and severe form of the disorder. We report a case of a 26- year-old primigravida female with severe acute hypertonic (hypervolemic) hypernatraemia secondary to postpartum eclampsia. This study highlights the clinical presentation, serial biochemical investigations and treatment modalities of the patient with a review of pertinent literature. We concluded that hypernatraemia in any form may occur in eclampsia and adequate attention need to be drawn to the fluid and electrolyte management of these patients to prevent unfavorable outcome.