ABSTRACT
Skin tests were administered to 221 asthma patients at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital between 1977 and 1980. Of these, 168 patients (76 percent) had positive skin tests to one or more allergens and 53 (34 percent) had negative skin tests. Patients with positive tests tended to have a positive family history of asthma and an earlier age of onset of asthma.There was, however, no observed difference in the groups in the incidence of other allergies of urticaria, eczema, and allergic rhinitis. Results showed that 89 percent of asthmatics with positive skin tests were allergic either to house dust or to the house dust mite. Pollen allergy was comparatively rare. There is a need to prepare desensitizing antigens specific to this environment.
Subject(s)
Asthma/etiology , Dust/adverse effects , Mites/immunology , Skin Tests , Adolescent , Adult , Asthma/epidemiology , Child , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , NigeriaABSTRACT
The pulmonary function and symptoms of 125 workers exposed to carbon black in dry cell battery and tire manufacturing plants were investigated. There was no significant difference in the pulmonary function of the subjects in the two plants. There was good agreement in the symptoms reported in the two different factories: cough with phlegm production, tiredness, chest pain, catarrh, headache, and skin irritation. The symptoms also corroborate those reported in the few studies on the pulmonary effects of carbon black. The suspended particulate levels in the dry cell battery plant ranged from 25 to 34 mg/m3 and the subjects with the highest probable exposure level had the most impaired pulmonary function. The pulmonary function of the exposed subjects was significantly lower than that of a control, nonindustrially exposed population. The drop in the lung function from the expected value per year of age was relatively constant for all the study subgroups but the drop per year of duration of employment was more severe in the earlier years of employment. This study has underscored the need for occupational health regulations in the industries of developing countries.
Subject(s)
Carbon/analysis , Industry , Respiration/drug effects , Air/analysis , Dust/analysis , Environmental Exposure , Humans , Lung/analysis , Lung Diseases/chemically induced , Respiratory Function TestsABSTRACT
Three cases of Stevens-Johnson's syndrome seen at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital are reported. The clinical features did not differ from those described in temperature countries. Steroid therapy and intravenous infusion still form the major part of the management in this life-threatening condition.
Subject(s)
Stevens-Johnson Syndrome/diagnosis , Adult , Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Nigeria , Stevens-Johnson Syndrome/etiologyABSTRACT
A case of intermittent porphyria is reported. The patient had quadriparesis, acute abdominal symptoms and abnormalities in the blood chemistry. Acute intermittent porphyria is not a common disease in Africans. The severe neurological signs in this patient may have been precipitated by medication.
Subject(s)
Porphyrias/diagnosis , Adult , Colic/etiology , Female , Humans , Nigeria , Paralysis/etiology , Porphyrias/complicationsABSTRACT
The response of ventilation to hypercapnia was determined in 10 normal young Nigerians, aged 19 to 30 years, and in eight elderly Nigerians, aged 50 to 65 years. The elderly subjects were carefully screened to eliminate the possibility of cardiopulmonary disease. All the subjects had been born in low-altitude areas and had not had prior exposure to hypoxia. The ventilatory response to hypercapnia was found to be significantly decreased in the elderly subjects. It is concluded that the ventilatory response to hypercapnia decreases with age among Nigerians.
Subject(s)
Aging , Black People , Carbon Dioxide , Hypercapnia/physiopathology , Respiration , Adult , Aged , Humans , Middle Aged , Nigeria , Respiratory Function TestsABSTRACT
Four cases of sarcoidosis seen within ten months in Nigerians by the author are reported. The clinical picture did not differ from those described in temperate countries. Histological confirmation was obtained in all the cases. The rarity of this disease among Africans as reported in the literature might be more apparent than real.
Subject(s)
Sarcoidosis/diagnosis , Adult , Diagnostic Errors , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Nigeria , Prednisolone/therapeutic use , Sarcoidosis/drug therapyABSTRACT
Pulmonary studies including the measurements of single-breath diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DL); Forced Vital Capacity (FVC); Residual Volume (RV) and Total Lung Capacity (TLC) were carried out in forty normal subjects; twelve patients with homozygous sickle cell anaemia and five patients with iron deficiency anaemia due to hookworm infestation. Normal subjects had a mean haemoglobin content of 13.4 g per 100 ml and a mean DL value of 28 ml/min/mmHg. In the patients with hookworm anaemia, the mean haemoglobin was 4.9 g per 100 ml while the mean DL value was 9 ml/min per mmHg. Patients with sickle cell anaemia had a mean haemoglobin content of 6.2 g/100 ml yet the mean DL value was 20 ml/min per mmHg. The study showed that patients with homozygous sickle cell anaemia have a disproportionately high DL value in the presence of severe anaemia which might be due to a chronically expanded pulmonary capillary blood volume as a compensatory mechanism to maintain an appropriate level of DL.
Subject(s)
Anemia, Sickle Cell/physiopathology , Lung Volume Measurements , Adolescent , Adult , Anemia, Hypochromic/physiopathology , Anemia, Sickle Cell/genetics , Carbon Dioxide/blood , Child , Female , Hemoglobinometry , Homozygote , Hookworm Infections/physiopathology , Humans , Lung/physiopathology , Male , Nigeria , Pulmonary Diffusing Capacity , Total Lung Capacity , Vital CapacityABSTRACT
Blood gas tensions and acid-base status were determined in six patients with tetanus before and after the onset of severe muscle spasms. Hypoxaemia and metabolic acidosis present in all the patients, were worsened by muscle spasms. It is suggested that frequent measurements of blood gases should be carried out where such facilities are available.
Subject(s)
Acidosis/complications , Hypoxia/complications , Spasm/complications , Tetanus/complications , Acidosis/physiopathology , Adolescent , Bicarbonates/therapeutic use , Blood Gas Analysis , Humans , Hypoxia/physiopathology , Middle Aged , Oxygen/therapeutic use , Spasm/physiopathology , Tetanus/drug therapy , Tetanus/physiopathologySubject(s)
Asthma/mortality , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Child , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , NigeriaABSTRACT
A 1-min i.v. bolus injection of 300 microgram salbutamol produced transient hypokalemia in asthmatic patients, whereas continuous i.v. infusion of 10 microgram/min salbutamol for 30 for 30 min produced significant and sustained hypokalemia. The 1-min bolus infusion of salbutamol has a distinct therapeutic advantage over continuous infusion of this drug, because the hypokalemia produced by the latter may predispose to serious cardiac arrhythmias.
Subject(s)
Albuterol/administration & dosage , Asthma/drug therapy , Potassium/blood , Adolescent , Adult , Albuterol/therapeutic use , Blood Glucose/analysis , Female , Heart Rate/drug effects , Humans , Male , Peak Expiratory Flow Rate , Time FactorsABSTRACT
The acid-base balance and gas tension of the cerebrospinal fluid of eight tetanus patients and twelve control subjects were studied. Tetanus patients had metabolic acidosis which was severely reflected in the cerebrospinal fluid. While the cerebrospinal fluid pH is lower than that of the arterial blood there was no difference between the acid-base and gas tension of the cerebrospinal fluid of Nigerians and the causasians. The severe metabolic acidosis of the cerebrospinal fluid of tetanus patients might be one of the causes of sudden deaths seen in these patients.
Subject(s)
Acid-Base Imbalance/cerebrospinal fluid , Bicarbonates/cerebrospinal fluid , Carbon Dioxide/cerebrospinal fluid , Oxygen/cerebrospinal fluid , Tetanus/cerebrospinal fluid , Adolescent , Adult , Female , Humans , Hydrogen-Ion Concentration , Male , NigeriaSubject(s)
Typhoid Fever/epidemiology , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Male , Middle Aged , NigeriaABSTRACT
The ventilatory response to carbon dioxide was measured by a rebreathing technique in 21 Nigerians who had homozygous sickle-cell disease. The slope of the carbon dioxide response curve was obtained by plotting the ventilation at successive half-minute intervals against the corresponding mean end-tidal PCO2. Our results showed that sickle-cell patients are as sensitive to carbon dioxide as are normal subjects.
Subject(s)
Anemia, Sickle Cell/physiopathology , Carbon Dioxide , Respiration , Adolescent , Adult , Carbon Dioxide/analysis , Child , Female , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
This paper reports the findings of a survey of smoking habits among secondary schoolchildren and medical students in Lagos, Nigeria. Altogether 40% of boys and 8.4% of girls at secondary school, and 72.4% of men and 22.2% of women at medical school were found to smoke. While the smoking habit of the secondary schoolboys was influenced by the smoking habits of their parents and friends, the smoking habit of the secondary schoolgirls and female medical students was mainly influenced by that of their friends. This study provides a baseline against which future studies on smoking habits in developing African countries may be measured, and the results show that health education on cigarette smoking must start in primary and secondary schools.
Subject(s)
Smoking/epidemiology , Age Factors , Female , Health Education , Humans , Male , Motivation , Nigeria , Parent-Child Relations , Schools , Students, Medical , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Fifty-two cases of typhoid fever seen at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital during a five-year period (1966 - 1970) are reported. While the 11-20 years age group was most affected the sex distribution was the same and there was 22 per cent mortality. The majority of these cases came from areas with poor sanitary conditions (AU)
Subject(s)
Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Child , Female , Humans , Infant , Male , Middle Aged , Infant, Newborn , Typhoid Fever/epidemiologyABSTRACT
1. Ventilatory response to carbon dioxide was measured by the rebreathing technique in seven patients with mild tetanus during the disease state and after clinical recovery. 2. The ventilatory response to carbon dioxide was found to be decreased in the tetanus patients during the disease state with normal response after full clinical recovery. It is postulated that the restrictive ventilatory defect was responsible for the decreased ventilatory response to carbon dioxide.
Subject(s)
Carbon Dioxide , Respiration , Tetanus/physiopathology , Adolescent , Adult , Blood , Carbon Dioxide/blood , Female , Humans , Hydrogen-Ion Concentration , Male , Middle Aged , Oxygen/blood , Partial Pressure , Tetanus/bloodABSTRACT
Aerosol beclomethasone dipropionate was effective in maintaining airway patency in 14 out of 16 steroid-dependent asthmatics. In 3 patients who had significant adrenal suppression on systemic corticosteroid therapy substitution with aerosol beclomethasone led to recovery of adrenal function. From the evidence obtained it is concluded that this aerosol steroid represents a modest advance in the therapy of asthma.
Subject(s)
Anti-Asthmatic Agents/administration & dosage , Asthma/drug therapy , Beclomethasone/administration & dosage , Administration, Inhalation , Adult , Female , Glucocorticoids , Humans , Hydrocortisone/blood , Male , Middle AgedABSTRACT
Oxygen consumption (VO2) was determined in 10 patients with moderate tetanus. The mean (+/- SE) VO2 of 425-2-2 +/- 50-3 ml/min on admission fell significantly to 249-9 +/- 13-1 ml/min standard temperature and pressure dry (STPD) after parenteral diazepam. There was also a significant fall in minute ventilation after administration of diazepam. The results suggest that the simple practical determination of VO2 will be of immense value in assessing the efficacy of muscle relaxants, assessing the severity of tetanus, and determining the calorie needs of patients.
