Adequacy and pattern of blood donations in north-eastern Nigeria: the implications for blood safety.

In a retrospective analysis, the quantities, patterns and adequacy of blood donations made, between 1984 and 2006, at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital in north-eastern Nigeria were explored and related to blood safety in the study area. The types of blood donor were reviewed and the annual increments in the number of donations made were estimated and compared with the annual increments in the numbers of in-patients managed at the study hospital. The mean annual increment in the number of blood donations (4%) fell well below the mean annual increment in in-patient numbers (11%). The blood donations received at the hospital fell into four types: voluntary, family-replacement, commercial and pre-deposit autologous donations. Over the study period, the percentage of donations falling into the voluntary and family-replacement categories fell from 31% to 5% and from 49% to 23%, respectively. These falls were matched by increases in the percentages of donations categorised as commercial and autologous, which rose from 20% to 63%, and from 1% to 9%, respectively. By the end of the study period, the quantity of blood being donated at the hospital was grossly inadequate and predominantly derived from family and commercial donors, who were found to be generally inferior, in terms of blood safety, to voluntary donors. There is an urgent need to rectify this situation by setting up a functional and national blood-transfusion service in Nigeria.

Treatment of ganglion using hypertonic saline as sclerosant.

Twenty-nine patients with ganglion of the wrist were treated in this hospital using hypertonic saline as sclerosant. All patients were treated as outpatients. Under aseptic conditions, the ganglia were aspirated using #18 hyperdermic needle. A mixture of 2 cc of hypertonic saline and 1 cc 1% xylocaine were injected into the empty cavity and crepe bandage applied for 24-48 hours. After a follow-up period of 24-36 months, there was only one recurrence which was believed to be accidental injection of the saline outside the empty cavity. This was treated by the same procedure. The most common complication was swelling of the wrist and dorsum of the hand which were seen in 50% of cases. This subsided spontaneously within 72 hrs of treatment. Severe pain necessitating ingestion of analgesics (Paracetamol) was reported in 6 patients (20%), which subsided within 48 hours. It is hoped that this new treatment which is cheap and less invasive may be a break through in the treatment of ganglia which hitherto was characterised by high recurrence rate of up to 23%.

A study of the collodiaphyseal angle of the femur in the North-Eastern Sub-Region of Nigeria.

The neck-shaft (collodiaphyseal) angle of 320 femora (200 males and 120 females) from indigenes of North-East sub-region of Nigeria were measured. The average collo-diaphyseal angle in males (136.70 degrees +/- 3.905) was greater than in females (126.65 degrees +/- 3.397) with a highly significant statistical difference between both sexes (P < 0.001). Regional variation has also been shown to exist in the neck-shaft angles. Knowledge of the neck-shaft angle in this region would therefore be useful to the surgeon during internal fixation of fractured neck of the femur and also in determining the sex of individual from skeletal remains for medico-legal reasons.

African histoplasmosis: report of four cases from north-eastern Nigeria.

Four cases of African histoplasmosis with lesions of the skin, subcutaneous tissues and lymph nodes diagnosed histologically are described from the Borno State of Nigeria. Three of the cases were autochthonous to this State, whereas the fourth one originated from the Anambra State of Nigeria. These cases constitute the first record of African histoplasmosis from the arid zone of the north-eastern part of Nigeria.