Medical education impact assessment: knowledge of final year medical students of Obafemi Awolowo University about male urethral catheterization

Urethral catheterization is one of the commonest procedures performed by doctors either for prophylactic; diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. The medical education impact of this procedure on graduating medical students was assessed using a structured questionnaire. This is a questionnaire - based study and the respondents were final year medical students who have completed their final examinations. There were 86 respondents with M:F ratio of 1. About a third of the respondents have not done urethral catheterization during their training while only 7have done the procedure more than 5 times. All the students know that urethral catheterization is a sterile procedure and 96knew that sterile gloves should be donned during the procedure. 92.4of the respondents knew that skin preparation was necessary during the procedure with 75of them responding that cetriomide and chlorhexidine solution was appropriate. 54of the students used xylocaine as lubricant while 46used KY Jelly. On the quantity of the lubricant for catheterization; only 2.7of the respondents felt that 11-15mls should be injected into the urethra. On the maximum amount of fluid to retain the balloon; only 36of the students responded that it should be according to the specified capacity of the balloon. Majority of the students (88) know that the catheter should get to theY-junction before it is inflated. Most of the students in this study were taught appropriately the procedure of urethral catheterization; however; about a third had not performed the procedure as a medical student

Digital Rectal Examination for Prostate and Rectal Tumour: Knowledge and Experience of Final Year Medical Students

BACKGROUND: It is most pertinent that medical students are taught the necessary skills for digital rectal examination (DRE) before they become doctors. OBJECTIVE: The study is to assess the knowledge and experience of final year medical students regarding DRE for prostate and rectal tumours. METHODS: Well-structured questionnaire were administered to each of the final year medical students of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology a week to their final examinations. RESULTS: Response was received from 127 (60) of the students; 124 (97.6) agreed that they have been taught DRE. Most of the students; 102 (80.3); have done one to five DRE; three (2.4) and have never performed DRE while none of the students have done more than ten DRE. Only in 49 (38.6) of cases were the findings of the students on DRE always confirmed by a doctor. Nine students (7.1) have never felt a clinical BPH and none had felt it more than five times. Sixtysix (52.0) have never felt a malignant prostate and none of the students have felt it up to three times. Most of the students; 106 (83.5); have never felt a rectal tumour on DRE Only five (3.9) felt very confident of their ability to give an opinion based on their findings on DRE while 105 (82.7) felt reasonably confident CONCLUSIONS: The students have been taught DRE and a good number of them have performed it. Few of the DRE done by the students were cross-checked by a doctor. Most of the students have problems differentiating BPH from cancer of the prostate and many of them were not very confident of their findings on DRE

Testicular Torsion : a Fifteen Year Review in a Nigerian Teaching Hospital

Aim and Objectives: To determine the prevalent age; presentation; duration of symptoms before intervention; and outcome of management of testicular torsion (TT) in our community. Design: A fifteen-year retrospective study. Setting: University Teaching Hospital. Materials and Method: Records of patients managed for TT; January 1992- Decem- ber 2006; were reviewed. Records of 91 out of 106 patients managed during the period were available for review. The age of patient; presentation; duration of symptoms; predisposing factors; interval between presentation and operation; and outcome of management were extracted and analyzed. Results: Ninety-one patients; mean age 20.1yrs (range 8-34) were reviewed. The average duration of symptoms at presentation was 26.7hrs (range 1.5- 168). The patients were mostly 74(81.3) students. All of them presented with scrotal pain; and 66(72.5) had scrotal swelling (Left: Right=1.8:1). Torsion was partial (180-270o) in 14(15.4); and complete (360o-1440o) in 77(84.6). Intra-scrotal anatomic abnormalities were observed in 77(84.6) patients. Testes were viable in 59(64.8) patients offered bilateral orchidopexy and gangrenous in 32(35.2) that had orchi- dectomy with contralateral orchidopexy. The average duration of hospital stay was 2.8days. Most of the patients 76(83.5) were lost to follow up within 3 weeks postoperative. Conclusion: TT occurs in patients aged 8-34yrs in our immediate community. Presentation is late and most patients 77(84.6) have predisposing congenital abnormalities. There is a need for increase awareness by the general public and the health personnel's of the danger posed by delay in treating TT. Where doubts exist; early scrotal exploration should be the investigation and intervention of choice to prevent irreversible damage to the germ cells