Ultrasound Measurement of the Abdominal Aortic Diameter in a Normotensive and Hypertensive Adult Nigerian Population in Enugu

Background:Hypertension has direct effect on abdominal aortic diameter. Some of its manifestations are aortic aneurysm and dissection. Aims: To compare the AAD among adult normotensive and hypertensive subjects as well as correlating with age, sex and blood pressure. Materials and Methods: Participants will be randomly selected from hypertensives attending Cardiology Clinic, in University of Nigeria teaching hospital (UNTH) Enugu,Nigeria. Controls will be apparently healthy normotensive volunteers. Participants’ demographics, weight, height and blood pressure will be documented. Ultrasound measurements of infrarenal AAD will be taken at 2 cm below the origin of the superior mesenteric artery. Data will be statistically analyzed and a p-value of ≤ 0.05 will be considered significant. Results:300 participants: comprising of 150 normotensives and 150 hypertensives were studied. The mean values for AAD in normotensive males and females were 16.66 ± 2.04 mm and 15.36 ± 1.97 mm respectively. Whereas the values for hypertensives, changed to 18.89 ± 2.64 mm and 16.57 ± 2.54 mm respectively. The AAD showed a positive correlation with systolic blood pressure (r2= 0.317, P ≤ 0.001) but not with diastolic blood pressure. Conclusion: Abdominal aortic diameter was significantly larger among hypertensives than normotensives. The diameter increased with age in both normotensive and hypertensive subjects

Assessment of Body Mass Index and Blood Pressure among University Students in; Enugu; South East; Nigeria

Body Mass Index (BMI) has been described as a significant predictor of Blood Pressure (B.P) but few studies have demonstrated this association in our environment. The study aims to determine the pattern of relationship between BMI and blood pressure in our environment Two thousand and ninety six (2096) students in two Universities located in Enugu; South East Nigeria completed the study. The blood pressure; weight and height were measured. Body mass index was calculated as weight in Kilograms divided by height in meters square (kg/m ). More females than males were underweight (9.4versus 4.7). More males than females were overweight (8versus 4).Obesity occurred more in males than females (7versus 0.9).Blood pressure parameters increased significantly with BMI (p

Performance of students in anatomy in the 2nd MBSS examinations in some Nigerian universities

Aim: The aim of our study was to compare the pass rates of medical students in anatomy with those of medical biochemistry and physiology. Method: The 2nd MBBS (Part I MBBS) examination results of some medical schools in Eastern Nigeria over a variable period of 3-5 years were obtained. The schools were those of Abia State University (ABSU); Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NAU); University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) and University of Nigeria; Enugu Campus (UNEC). The performance of students in anatomy; medical biochemistry and physiology were compared. Result: ABSU and NAU had relatively smaller populations of students than UNIPORT and UNEC The percentage passes in anatomy in ABSU; NAU; UNIPORT and UNEC were 78.31; 79.3; 41.24and 54.7respectively. The performance of students in schools with small populations was better in anatomy than in either medical biochemistry or physiology. The reverse was the case in schools with large populations of students. Conclusion: Class size plays an important role in the performance of students in anatomy. The lower the population of students; the greater the chances of adequate exposure of students to the study materials; and consequently the better the performance

Transverse thoracic diameter in frontal chest radiographs of an adult Nigerian population

Background: Normal standards for thoracic dimensions that are available in our environment are often based on studies conducted on Caucasians. Application of such published data to a Nigerian population may lead to erroneous conclusions in terms of clinical implication. Objective: Our study aimed to establish age and sex specific transverse thoracic diameter (TD) for our environment.Subjects and methods: The TD of 303 males and females aged between 20 and 93 were obtained in a cross sectional study at a tertiary hospital. Results: The mean values for the 20-39; 40-59 and the 3 60 year-old males were 29.6; 29.0; 27.8cm respectively. The corresponding values for females were 26.3; 27.1 and 25.1cm . Males had significantly larger thoracic diameter than females. The largest mean TD in males and females were in the 20-39 and 40-59 age groups respectively. The TD had a significant positive correlation with weight; height; body mass index and body surface area. The best correlations were with body surface area and weight. Conclusions: Nigerians have a smaller TD than Caucasians. Smaller TD in Nigerians is likely to be responsible for their high cardiothoracic ratios in comparison with Caucasians or Asians