Asian Journal of Medicine and Health

Aims: To determine the effects of diagnostic mydriasis using 1% tropicamide and 2.5% phenylephrine on the systolic blood pressures of patients attending the Eye Clinic of University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital.

Study Design:  Interventional comparative hospital based study.

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, between November 2016 and January 2017.

Methodology: This was an interventional ‘within-patient’ comparative hospital-based study conducted over 3 months, in which the eyes of 137 subjects requiring pupillary dilatation for dilated fundus examination received 1% tropicamide and 2.5% phenylephrine. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures, pulse rates, pre and post dilation intraocular pressures (IOP), were amongst the parameters measured.

Results: There were 137 study participants - 86 males (62.8%) and 51 females (37.2%). The mean age of participants was 44.87±15.94 years. The highest proportion of participants had refractive errors - 53.3% and 54.0% in the right and left eyes respectively. There were slight reductions in systolic (122.54±16.89 mmHg to 122.51±20.88 mmHg) and diastolic (79.35±11.47 mmHg to 78.12±12.62 mmHg) blood pressures. These differences in BP were however not statistically significant (p>0.05). There was a statistically significant positive correlation between Systolic blood pressure and Post dilation IOP (p=0.0001).

Aim: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a public health issue in both developed and developing countries. It is one of the most common forms of violence against women. It affects all ethnic groups and it is not impeded by cultural, socio-economic or religious barriers. IPV in postpartum women can increase the risk of homicide and suicide. The study aimed to assess the prevalence, pattern and correlates of IPV among postpartum women attending postnatal and infant welfare clinics of LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Osogbo.

Study Design: This was a cross-sectional study.

Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at LTH, Osogbo Nigeria between September and November 2015.

Methodology: This was study conducted among 220 consenting postpartum women using Composite Abuse Scale and socio-demographic questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21. The level of statistical significance was set at p-value less than 0.05.

Results: Prevalence of IPV was 26.8%, patterns of IPV were physical abuse 14.5%. Emotional abuse, 26.3, severe combined abuse 9.9% and Harassment 14.5%. IPV was significantly associated with support from respondents’ partner during pregnancy (χ2= 5.470, p=0.019) and partner’s religion. (χ2= 7.746, p= 0.010) The odd ratio for those who had partner’s support was less than 1. (OR =0.337, p=0.014, CI=0.141-0.803).

Conclusion: The prevalence of IPV is high among postpartum women. Increased media campaign about intimate partner violence and preventive measures is urgently needed.

Background: Malaria continues to be a huge socioeconomic burden despite various measures taken to curb the spread worldwide. It is also a global concern and more so in countries with a resource-limited setting. This inspired us to look at variables that could represent a severe disease in those limited settings, one such parameter being thrombocytopenia in malaria.  

Aims and Objectives: To find the relationship between thrombocytopenia and renal failure, hepatic dysfunction and cerebral malaria (severe malaria) and to identify if thrombocytopenia on the first day of admission increases the likelihood of severe malaria.

Methods: The study included 85 patients admitted in Yenepoya medical college hospital with fever and peripheral smear or malarial parasite fluorescent test (MPFT) positive for Plasmodium species.

Results: A total of 85 patients were included in the study. It was noted that the patients with profound thrombocytopenia (<20,000/ml) on day 1 were more commonly associated with manifestations of severe malaria-like cerebral malaria, renal failure, and jaundice. Platelet count of <50,000/ml was associated with increased incidence of  renal failure, hepatic dysfunction, and cerebral malaria and increased mortality by an odds ratio of 4.37 on multivariate analysis.

Conclusions: It was noted in our study that the presence of thrombocytopenia in a case of acute febrile illness increases the probability of malaria. This finding along with clinical suspicion of malaria should entail early treatment initiation. We have also noted that the presence of profound and severe thrombocytopenia was found to have a statistically significant correlation with cerebral malaria, renal failure and jaundice, and increased mortality.

Maternal nutrition will not only affects pregnancy outcomes (such as birth weight) but will also affect the state of the fetus in their adult life in terms of diseases occurrence and also immune system development. Inadequate nutrition particularly will have a negative impact on the proliferation of the various cell populations responsible for the immune functions as well as the accumulation of high concentrations of inflammatory components. Maternal nutrition affects immunity ‘programming' during the period of pre-natal and post-natal life. Over the last decade, epidemiological and experimental studies have helped to expedite more understanding of immunity ‘programming.' External exposures such as smoking, alcohol and drugs during fetal life have also shown to have an impact on immunity ‘programming.' In this review, the relationship between fetal programming and the immune system, such as effects on the various immune-cellular components through some evidence from epidemiological and experimental models will be discussed.

Ganglion cysts are pseudocysts with no epithelial lining of their own. These are non- neoplastic lesions filled with gelatinous material and originate from tendon sheath, ligament, bursa, joint capsule or subchondral bone. Rarely, they may present in an intramuscular location, away from the joint with no synovial communication. Upper limb involvement is more common and such lesions are usually found on the hand, wrist and ankle. Despite their common occurrence, peripheral nerve compression due to these cysts is rare with cases of ulnar and median nerve compressions infrequently reported in the literature. In lower limb, dorsal surface of the foot is reported to be the most common site. Occurrence of ganglion cysts in lower limb causing compressive neuropathy is an even rarer combination. We report a case with unilateral common peroneal nerve palsy with incidentally detected bilateral intramuscular ganglion cysts. Even an extensive literature search did not reveal any such case report. The patient underwent high resolution ultrasound imaging for the possible cause of compression of common peroneal nerve. Incidentally, cystic lesions were identified in the intramuscular plane causing nerve compression in the right leg with similar lesions at the same location in the left leg. On the left side, patient was free of neuropathic symptoms as the nerve was seen passing between the cystic lesions, not getting compressed. The patient then underwent MR imaging with contrast and intramuscular ganglion was kept as the provisional diagnosis of the cystic lesion. Operative management was planned to relieve the compressive neuropathy and excision biopsy of the lesion proved it to be a ganglion cyst.