Gastrointestinal Lesions in a Nigerian Tertiary Care Centre: A Histopathological Study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Gastrointestinal diseases account for significant morbidity and mortality across the world. The study aims at establishing the epidemiological profile of gastrointestinal diseases in a Nigerian tertiary care center. METHODS: This is a descriptive retrospective study of all gastrointestinal specimens, submitted to the histopathology department of Delta State University Teaching Hospital (DELSUTH) for diagnosis. The age, sex, and histological diagnosis were extracted from the archives of the department. These were re-reclassified into diagnostic groups, analyzed using Excel spread sheet 2007 and summarized in tables. RESULTS: The study involves 570 patients (290 males and 280 females) with gastrointestinal tract (GIT) diseases within the age range of 10 days to 99 years, and of a mean age of 48.4 years. Congenital, inflammatory, benign neoplasms, malignant neoplasms and vascular diseases accounted for 1.6%, 77.5%, 2.6%, 18.1% and 0.18% of the cases respectively. These lesions were domiciled in the esophagus (1.4%), stomach (53.3%), small intestine (7.9%), appendix (10%), colorectum (25.4%) and anus (2%). The peak incidence corresponded to the 5th decade with 72.5% of cases affecting patients of 30-69 years. Malignant lesions were found in the esophagus (5.8%), stomach (14.6%), small intestine (4.9%), colorectum (72.8%) and anus (1.9%) and were mostly adenocarcinomas. CONCLUSION: The study showed that GIT lesions were slightly more common among males. Majority of cases were inflammatory diseases (gastritis, appendicitis) with GIT cancers (colorectal and gastric cancer) being the next most common. The preponderance of GIT lesions among the productive age calls for action to ameliorate the trend. Preventive public enlightenment campaign on GIT cancer risk factors and population-based screening programmes especially for Helicobacter pylori infection and colorectal cancer is highly recommended.

Mortality Synopsis Among Women of Reproductive Age Group in Nigeria: A Hospital-Based Study.

PURPOSE: Identification of health problems of women of reproductive age, using a reliable mortality data, is essential in evading preventable female deaths. This study aimed at investigating mortality profile of women of reproductive age group in Nigeria. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a descriptive, retrospective study involving women of reproductive age group of 15-49 years that died at DELSUTH from 1st January 2016 to 31st December 2018. The age, date of death and cause of death were retrieved from the hospital records and subsequently analyzed using SPSS version 21. RESULTS: One hundred and eighty-seven eligible deaths were encountered in this study, constituting 17.5% of all deaths in the hospital. Twenty four (12.8%) cases were of maternal etiology while 163 (87.2%) were of non-maternal causes. Non-communicable disease, communicable disease and external injuries accounted for 100 (53.5%), 44 (23.5%) and 19 (10.2%) deaths among the non-maternal causes. The mean age and the peak age group are 34.4 years and the 4th decade respectively. The leading specified non-maternal causes of death (in descending order) are AIDS/TB, cerebrovascular accidents (CVA), breast cancer, road traffic accident (RTA), diabetes, perioperative death and sepsis while the leading maternal causes of death are abortion, postpartum hemorrhage, eclampsia and puerperal sepsis. CONCLUSION: Most deaths affecting WRAG are preventable, with non-maternal causes in excess of maternal causes. There is need for holistic life-long interventional policies and strategies that will address the health need of these women, using evidence-based research findings.