Prevalence and pattern of knee osteoarthritis among nurses

Nurses at work assume uncomfortable postures that predispose the knee joint to osteoarthritis (OA) due to excess workload and stress. This study determined the prevalence and pattern of knee OAamong nurses. This cross - sectional designed survey employed convenient sampling technique to enrol 300 eligible and volunteer nurses from three randomly selected public hospitals out of five existing ones located at the study area. Written informed consent forms were issued to eligible participants. Forms containing socio-demographic variables and physical characteristics of the participants, American College of Rheumatology (ACR) clinical classification criteria for diagnosis of symptomatic knee OA, and health seeking behaviour were administered on the participants. Descriptive and Chi square (X2) statistics were employed to summarize and analyze the collected data respectively. Mean age and age range in years of the participants were 39.92 ± 10.97 and 19-65 respectively. Prevalence of knee OA among the nurses was 32.3%. Significant differences (p < 0.05) in the prevalence of knee OAamong the participants existed in the following variables: age groups, body mass indices (BMI), rank and years of working experience. Most (62.9%) participants presented with unilateral knee OA. Prevalence of knee OAamong nurses at the public hospitals surveyed was 32.3%. Age, BMI, working experience and rank were significantly associated with knee OA

Pattern of presentation and management of urolithiasis at federal medical centre, Nguru, Nigeria

Background: Urolithiasis has been with mankind since ancient time. Although it is more common in the developed world, the pattern of presentation in the developing countries is tending towards that of developed countries. Objectives: To evaluate the pattern of presentations and treatments offered to patients with urolithiasis over the last 2 years at Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Nguru.Materials and Methods: The study is a 2-year retrospective review of patients managed for urolithiasis at FMC Nguru. The patients' bio-data, pattern of presentation and radiological features of the stones, as well as the treatment given to the patients, were reviewed.Results: The records of 55 patients were reviewed; the mean age was 24.1 years with a range of 1.5 to 70years. The male to female ratio was 10:1. The most common presenting symptom was painful micturition in 21 patients (38.18%). The total number of stones extracted was 58, one patient had multiple right renal pelvic calculi, another had bilateral renal pelvic stone and the third patient had bladder and distal ureteric stone. Two patients (3.64%) expelled their calculi while awaiting surgery, the remaining 53 patients (96.36%) had opened surgical treatment. Most of the stones are in the bladder in 29 patients (52%). Twenty-one patients (38.18%) had upper urinary tract stones out of which 13 were in the renal pelvis.Conclusion: Urolithiasis is also common in the developing communities. Despite the changing pattern from lower to the upper tract in developed countries, we found lower tract stone dominating as seen in many underdeveloped. This may be attributable to yet to establish environmental or genetic factors

Accessory right hepatic artery originating from the superior mesenteric artery: report on three cadaveric cases from Sokoto, North-Western Nigeria and review of literature

Background: The superior mesenteric artery may be the source of the common hepatic; gastroduodenal; accessory right hepatic; accessory pancreatic or splenic arteries.Objective: To present three cases of accessory right hepatic artery originating from the superior mesenteric artery in black African cadavers as found during routine cadaveric dissections.Materials and Method: The abdomens of 8 adult male black African cadavers were dissected according to the description and guidance by Romanes (1996). The superior mesenteric arteries; liver (especially the visceral surfaces); gall bladders; cystic ducts; portal veins and gastroduodenal arteries were exposed.Results: Three cadaveric cases of the accessory right hepatic arteries arising from the superior mesenteric arteries were observed. One of the cases was noticed to give a cystic branch.Conclusion: Since there are no Nigerian studies on the accessory right hepatic artery arising from the superior mesenteric artery; these reports might contribute useful data to the literature regarding the same

Acinetobacter blood stream infection in a teaching hospital- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

To study the clinical conditions of patients with blood stream infection [BSI] due to Acinetobacter species, the predisposing factors, the antimicrobial susceptibilities and the outcome of infection by these organisms. Settings: The study took place at King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Forty patients with blood stream infection due to Acinetobacter species were prospectively studied. Acinetobacter isolates were identified by API 20E. Antimicrobial susceptibility to 13 antimicrobial agents was performed by a disc comparative Stoke's method. For 23 isolates, susceptibility was also tested by minimum inhibitory concentration using E test [Abbiodisk, Solna, Sweden]. The predominant Acinetobacter isolate was Acinetobacter baumannii 24 [60%] followed by Acinetobacter baumannii complex 10 [25%] and six [15%] were other Acinetobacter species. Patients with Acinetobacter baumannii blood stream infection were more frequently managed in intensive care units. Nineteen of them [47.5%] had serious underlying illnesses predisposing to Acinetobacter blood stream infections including, cardiac, renal diseases, prematurity and severe burns with six [25%] having a fatal outcome. Risk factors for Acinetobacter baumannii blood stream infection included: intravascular catheters, mechanical ventilation, prior antibiotic use and colonization at other body sites. These factors were independently associated with Acinetobacter baumannii acquisition in these patients [P = > 0.05]. The results of anti microbial susceptibility tested by disc diffusion method were comparable to those of E test. Among the 13 anti microbial agents tested, imipenem was the most active agent against Acinetobacter baumannii as well as other Acinetobacter species. We concluded that Acinetobacter baumannii is the most common Acinetobacter species causing significant blood stream infections among patients in intensive care units with serious underlying illnesses. Risk factors studied were independently associated with the disease process of these patients. Imipenem is the most active anti microbial agent against clinically significant Acinetobacter baumannii blood stream infection

Hemophilus influenzae serotype-b meningitis in an adult immunocompetent patient

We present a case of meningitis caused by Hemophilus influenzae type'b in an immunocompetent 41-year-old Saudi lady. The patient was successfully treated with Ceftriaxone for 10 days. A review of Hemophilus influenzae meningitis in adults and the impact of conjugated vaccine on the epidemiology of the disease are given