ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Discharge against medical advice (DAMA) is when a patient decides to leave the hospital without the consent of the treating physician. It poses serious clinical, ethical, and legal challenges to the individual physician as well as the hospital. AIM: To determine the prevalence and reasons for DAMA in orthopedic departments of eight tertiary hospitals in Nigeria. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a prospective multi-center descriptive study undertaken in eight tertiary Nigerian hospitals. Consecutive patients who requested for DAMA within 1 year of the study and who consented to participate in the study had face-to-face interviews. Data obtained were documented in a questionnaire and analyzed with SPSS version 20. RESULTS: The total number of patients studied was 373 with a mean age 34.7 ± 17.5 years. About a quarter of them (25.5%) were between 31 and 40 years. A prevalence rate of 1.9% was found with financial constraint being the predominant reason for DAMA (40.8%). Other reasons include family preference for unorthodox treatment (18.8%) and treatment dissatisfaction (7.0%) among others. CONCLUSION: The study findings indicate a low DAMA rate when compared to previous studies in this region. It also indicates that financial constraints, family preference for unorthodox care, and low educational status are major drivers of DAMA. Deepened health insurance and other measures that can reduce the prevalence of DAMA should be prioritized to improve treatment outcomes.
Subject(s)
Patient Discharge , Treatment Refusal , Humans , Adolescent , Young Adult , Adult , Middle Aged , Prospective Studies , Tertiary Care Centers , Nigeria/epidemiologyABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: When there is an insurgency, the use of force in the form of weaponry, is employed. This may lead to the total breakdown of law and order, resulting in destruction of life and property. Health workers may be killed or captured, and, health facilities destroyed or stretched beyond their functional capacity. This is a report of experience with injuries seen in a tertiary hospital in north eastern Nigeria, under an insurgency situation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: After obtaining clearance from the medical Ethics Committee of UMTH, we reviewed the case files of all patients treated for injuries sustained as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency from January 2009 to December 2013. Those brought in dead, were not included in the study. RESULTS: We reviewed the case files, theatre notes, admission and discharge registers of 1339 cases. 1223 (91.3%) of the victims were males, while 116 (8.7%) were females. Gunshot wounds accounted for 1229 (91.8%) of the injuries, bomb blast 90 (6.7%), others 15 (1.1%) knife (Cut throat) 4 (0.3%) and road traffic accident 1 (0.01%). Casualties were made up of civilians 1144 (85.4%), the joint task force (a force made up of the Military, Police, Customs and Immigration, against the insurgents) 117 (8.7%), and insurgents 22 (1.6%). The ages of the patients ranged from 1 to 80 years, peaking at the 21-40 age brackets (796 or 59.4%). The extremities were most affected, 734 (54.8%), followed by the torso 423 (31.6%), multiple injuries 93 (6.9%) and head and neck 89 (6.6%). 1226 (91.6%) of the victims survived while 113 (8.4%) died from their injuries. This followed massive blood loss from injuries to the torso 69 (61.1%) multiple injuries 15 (13.3) and extremities 6 (5.3%). Others causes were fatal injuries to the head and neck 22 (19.5%) and 90% burns following bomb blast 1 (0.9%). CONCLUSION: Injuries resulting from insurgency will continue to be a problem in many developing countries because their health facilities in terms of personnel and materials are ill prepared for such a situation .
Subject(s)
Terrorism , Wounds and Injuries/epidemiology , Accidents, Traffic/mortality , Adolescent , Adult , Age Distribution , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Blast Injuries/epidemiology , Burns/epidemiology , Burns/therapy , Cause of Death , Child , Child, Preschool , Explosions , Extremities/injuries , Female , Hemorrhage/etiology , Hemorrhage/mortality , Humans , Infant , Male , Middle Aged , Neck Injuries , Nigeria , Pharynx/injuries , Sex Distribution , Treatment Outcome , Wounds and Injuries/classification , Wounds and Injuries/therapy , Wounds, Gunshot/epidemiology , Young AdultABSTRACT
Aspergillosis of the long bones has not been reported. Those of the bones of the paranasal sinuses and ear canal have been reported but rare. A young woman reported to us with history of discharging sinuses around the right knee and recent fracture of the right femur. Despite all efforts, she ended up losing the whole limb from the hip. When a patient with Aspergillosis of the long bones presents late, amputation may be the best option. Early diagnosis will prevent this.
Subject(s)
Aspergillosis/diagnosis , Aspergillus fumigatus/isolation & purification , Leg Bones/diagnostic imaging , Adult , Antifungal Agents/therapeutic use , Aspergillosis/therapy , Disarticulation , Female , Humans , Imidazoles/therapeutic use , Leg Bones/microbiology , Leg Bones/surgery , Tomography, X-Ray Computed , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Exstrophy anomalies, although rare, pose a tremendous challenge to both surgeons and surrogates. Management is intricate and experience with large members is restricted to a few centres worldwide. This report is a review of 18 cases of these anomalies managed in University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) over 8 years, highlighting the intricacies of management, and contributes to the existing data bank on this subject matter in our environment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed the records of all cases of anomalies that were managed in the index hospital from December 2002 to December 2010. RESULTS: Eighteen cases were studied. The youngest was a 2-day-old neonate and the oldest was 6 years at repair, with a median age of 4 months. There were 7 boys and 9 girls with bladder exstrophy, and the remaining two were girls with cloacal exstrophy, giving a male-female ratio of 7:11 for the exstrophy anomalies. Eight patients (33.5%) had associated congenital anomalies; 16.7% had undescended testes (UDT), anorectal malformation (ARM) and patent processus vaginalis (PPV); and duplicate bladder occurred in 5.6% of the patients. All but one patient had bilateral posterior iliac osteotomy at bladder closure. Out of the 17 patients that had osteotomy, 76.5% had satisfactory bladder closure (no complication), 5.9% had superficial wound dehiscence, 11.8% had bladder neck dehiscence and 5.9% had complete disruption. The lone patient that did not undergo osteotomy had complete bladder dehiscence. Postoperative immobilization was done for 3 weeks for 16 cases; one was discontinued after 1 week because of complication. The longest follow-up was for 2 years and the shortest for 2 weeks. Four patients (22.2%) did not turn up for follow-up. CONCLUSION: Exstrophy anomalies although rare remain a major challenge in paediatric surgery. Iliac osteotomy, among other technical considerations, remains a cornerstone for successful bladder closure.
Subject(s)
Bladder Exstrophy/surgery , Plastic Surgery Procedures/methods , Urologic Surgical Procedures/methods , Bladder Exstrophy/diagnosis , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Hospitals, Teaching , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Male , Osteotomy , Postoperative Complications , Sex Distribution , Treatment Outcome , Urinary Bladder/surgeryABSTRACT
Background: Exstrophy anomalies; although rare; pose a tremendous challenge to both surgeons and surrogates. Management is intricate and experience with large members is restricted to a few centres worldwide. This report is a review of 18 cases of these anomalies managed in University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) over 8 years; highlighting the intricacies of management; and contributes to the existing data bank on this subject matter in our environment. Materials and Methods: We reviewed the records of all cases of anomalies that were managed in the index hospital from December 2002 to December 2010. Results: Eighteen cases were studied. The youngest was a 2-day-old neonate and the oldest was 6 years at repair; with a median age of 4 months. There were 7 boys and 9 girls with bladder exstrophy; and the remaining two were girls with cloacal exstrophy; giving a male-female ratio of 7:11 for the exstrophy anomalies. Eight patients (33.5) had associated congenital anomalies; 16.7 had undescended testes (UDT); anorectal malformation (ARM) and patent processus vaginalis (PPV); and duplicate bladder occurred in 5.6 of the patients. All but one patient had bilateral posterior iliac osteotomy at bladder closure. Out of the 17 patients that had osteotomy; 76.5 had satisfactory bladder closure (no complication); 5.9 had superficial wound dehiscence; 11.8 had bladder neck dehiscence and 5.9 had complete disruption. The lone patient that did not undergo osteotomy had complete bladder dehiscence. Postoperative immobilization was done for 3 weeks for 16 cases; one was discontinued after 1 week because of complication. The longest follow-up was for 2 years and the shortest for 2 weeks. Four patients (22.2) did not turn up for follow-up. Conclusion: Exstrophy anomalies although rare remain a major challenge in paediatric surgery. Iliac osteotomy; among other technical considerations; remains a cornerstone for successful bladder closure
Subject(s)
Bladder Exstrophy/diagnosis , Bladder Exstrophy/surgery , Child , Hospitals , Plastic Surgery Procedures , Review , TeachingABSTRACT
High-tension electrical burns are a rare but devastating form of injury. The objective of this case report is to bring to the fore the severity of this rare form of injury and highlight the benefits of active surgical management of such a condition. We report the cases of two patients who were managed for high-tension electrical burns and highlight the main features of their presentation and management. Both patients needed urgent resuscitation and subsequent multiple amputations and disarticulations to save their lives. In high-tension electrical burns early resuscitation and wound exploration coupled with decisive action on the need for amputation would reduce the morbidity and mortality often associated with the ensuing overwhelming sepsis.
