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1.
Niger Postgrad Med J ; 15(3): 164-7, 2008 Sep.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-18923590

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Burn injury is one of the most severe forms of trauma that can afflict mankind. Although several forms of suicide and para suicide have been reported worldwide, severe burn injuries from deliberate self-harm have been poorly documented in Africa. AIM: To evaluate the pattern of deliberate self-harm by burning in our environment. METHOD: This is a 5-year retrospective analysis of all patients who sustained burns from deliberate self-harm (DSH) seen at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto from June 1998 to May 2003. The patients' data and other necessary information were extracted from the case notes. RESULTS: Seven patients were seen over the study period. There were six females and one male, giving a female to male ratio of 6:1. All the injuries occurred at home from kerosene flame burns. In all cases, the intent was to take the patient's own life. The triggering factors were mainly psychosocio-economic. Six patients had up to secondary education while one patient had a degree certificate. None of the patients was gainfully employed at the time of incidence. Two patients had previously attempted suicide. Only one patient had a history of psychiatric illness. All sustained severe flame burns ranging from 45% - 98% body surface area (BSA). Compliance to treatment was generally poor. All patients were managed at the intensive care unit (ICU) of the hospital.. Five patients died, while the remaining two signed against medical advice (SAMA) during the course of management. The duration of hospital stay ranged from 2 - 10 days. CONCLUSION: Severe burn injury from DSH, although previously poorly documented in Africa, is not uncommon in our environment. The morbidity and mortality are high, not only because of the nature of injury, but probably because of poor compliance to treatment. We advocate community based studies and routine screening of adolescents to identify those at risk. The need for the establishment suicide information, intervention and prevention centre in Nigeria cannot be overemphasised.


Subject(s)
Burns/epidemiology , Emergency Service, Hospital/statistics & numerical data , Kerosene/adverse effects , Self-Injurious Behavior/epidemiology , Suicide, Attempted/statistics & numerical data , Adolescent , Adult , Burns/prevention & control , Burns/psychology , Female , Hospitals, University , Humans , Incidence , Kerosene/statistics & numerical data , Length of Stay , Male , Nigeria/epidemiology , Retrospective Studies , Self-Injurious Behavior/prevention & control , Self-Injurious Behavior/psychology , Suicide, Attempted/prevention & control , Trauma Severity Indices
2.
West Afr J Med ; 27(4): 255-8, 2008 Oct.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-19469406

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: With the advent of potent gastric acid suppressing drugs and antibiotics effective against Helicobacter pylori, the rate of surgical operations for the treatment of peptic ulcer disease (PUD) and its complications have drastically fallen. OBJECTIVE: To audit our experience with this disease and its operative treatment at the surgical services of one tertiary health institution in Nigeria. METHODS: A-5-year retrospective audit (January 2000-December 2004) of all hospital admissions of PUD managed at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH), Sokoto. The case folders of those who were surgically treated were subsequently isolated and further analyzed in detail. Data collected included patient's demographics, clinical details, indication for surgical treatment, operation report and outcome of care. RESULTS: Out of 624 patients admitted with a clinical diagnosis of peptic ulcer disease into the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH), Sokoto during the study period, 21 (3%) were surgically treated. Of this subpopulation, 18 were males and three females; giving a sex ratio of 6:1. Their ages ranged between 30 and 62 years with a mean of 40.8 years. Thirteen (62%) of the patients had emergency procedures for life threatening complications of the disease. The remainder were operated electively. All but one survived representing a mortality rate of 4.8%. CONCLUSION: Elective peptic ulcer surgery has decreased in comparison with the emergency procedures in our centre. The advent of effective antibiotics against Helicobacter pylori and the use of potent gastric acid suppressing drugs may relegated the surgical approach to the treatment of PUD to history someday in the 21st century.


Subject(s)
Elective Surgical Procedures/statistics & numerical data , Peptic Ulcer/surgery , Adult , Age Distribution , Elective Surgical Procedures/trends , Female , Hospitals, Teaching , Hospitals, University , Humans , Male , Medical Audit , Middle Aged , Nigeria , Peptic Ulcer/diagnosis , Peptic Ulcer/etiology , Retrospective Studies , Sex Factors , Young Adult
3.
East Afr Med J ; 76(12): 709-12, 1999 Dec.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-10734547

ABSTRACT

A case of 12 year-old Nigerian male is presented. He had an unusual variant of Weber-Christian disease and manifested massive subcutaneous indurations and nodules limited to the cheeks, lips, left pectoral, infraclavicular and supraclavicular areas. A wedge biopsy revealed suppurative granulomatous eosinophilic panniculitis. Despite exhaustive investigations, no obvious trigger of the panniculitis could be identified. Response to corticosteroids and to empirical trials with other drugs was poor, and the outcome was fatal. We believe this is the first report from Nigeria of this rare variant of Weber-Christian panniculitis in the paediatric age, and draw attention to the life-threatening nature of this disorder.


Subject(s)
Eosinophilic Granuloma/complications , Eosinophilic Granuloma/pathology , Panniculitis, Nodular Nonsuppurative/complications , Panniculitis, Nodular Nonsuppurative/pathology , Anti-Inflammatory Agents/therapeutic use , Biopsy , Child , Eosinophilic Granuloma/drug therapy , Fatal Outcome , Fever/etiology , Humans , Male , Nigeria , Panniculitis, Nodular Nonsuppurative/drug therapy , Steroids , Suppuration
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