Abdominal aortic diameter and its determinants among healthy adults in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: The abdominal aorta is the largest artery in the human body. Sonographic assessment of the abdominal aortic diameter is presently the preferred screening method for an aortic aneurysm. However, there are no customized nomograms for our population and the recommended cutoffs for screening may be inappropriate. The effect of factors such as age, gender, and body mass index (BMI) on the abdominal aortic dissection (AAD) among blacks has also not been extensively investigated. OBJECTIVE: To develop a nomogram of AAD at various levels in Nigerian adults using high-resolution B mode ultrasonography and to evaluate the effect of factors such as gender, age, and BMI on AAD. METHODOLOGY: This study involved a sonographic evaluation of the abdominal aortic diameter of 400 normal Nigerian adults aged 18 years and above over a period of 17 months. The scan was done using a 3.5-5 MHz curvilinear transducer on the Mindray ultrasound machine (model: DC-8, SN-QE3B001806). The AAD (mean ± SD) was correlated with age, gender, BMI, and body surface area (BSA). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 for windows and P values <0.05 were considered significant. RESULTS: The mean AADs decreased from 1.58 ± 0.24 cm in the upper aorta (D1) to 1.40 ± 0.20 cm at the level of the renal arteries (D2) and 1.29 ± 0.23 cm at the bifurcation (D3). Mean AAD was significantly higher at all levels of the abdominal aorta (D1, D2, and D3) in males than in females (P < 0.00) and correlated positively with age (P = 0.00) and height (P = 0.00) at D2 and D3 levels. CONCLUSION: Absolute AADs were relatively smaller in adult Nigerians and this should be considered when setting up screening programs for abdominal aortic aneurysm in our population. Further studies are needed to determine factors affecting AAD.

Geometrical Analysis of the Proximal Femur and the Clinical Application in Total Hip Replacement: A Study of the Igbo Population of South East Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Adult hip reconstruction following trauma and hip pathologies depends on a sound knowledge of the proximal femoral geometry (PFG), which varies from one ethnic population to another. AIM: The aim of the study, therefore, was to evaluate parameters of the proximal femoral geometry in Igbos of South Eastern Nigeria. METHODOLOGY: A 5-year review of normal X-rays of the pelvis showing both hips of patients' age 18-64 between 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2016 at Radiology Department of University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Enugu was done. RESULTS: There were 554 patients, 273 (49.3%) males and 281 (50.7%) females. The values of the head width established in this study showed there was a mean difference between the right and left proximal femurs, which was statistically significant (P < 0.05). There was statistical significant difference (P < 0.05) between the means of the parameters of the proximal femoral geometry when compared between gender, the only exception being the left medial cortical thicknes, which did not show any difference (P > 0.05). A comparison of means of PFG parameters of the Igbos and that of the Turkish population showed that there was statistically significant difference on both sides. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated that there was no difference in the means of both sides of femoral neck width and the intertrochanteric width of the left side. The correlations between PFG parameters showed that there was strong positive correlation that was significant apart from the right acetabular angle that did not correlate with other parameters.

The prevalence of cervical ribs in Enugu, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Cervical rib is an important cause of nontraumatic thoracic outlet neurovascular compression. This study was undertaken as there is no known documented report on its prevalence in the study environment. AIMS: To evaluate the prevalence of cervical ribs and its variation with sex and age among patients presenting at radiological facilities for a chest radiograph. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Retrospective evaluation of plain posterior-anterior view chest radiographs done in radiological facilities in Enugu, Southeast, Nigeria. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Evaluated in this study were all 6571 chest radiographs consecutively obtained between 2009 and 2012 in three randomly selected radiological facilities in Enugu. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: SPSS version 17 software was used in data analysis. Chi-square and student t-tests were used to test for the significance of findings at 95% confidence level. RESULTS: This study reports the overall prevalence of cervical ribs as 48 (0.7%) with a significantly higher rate in females 43 (1.1%) when compared to males 5 (0.2%) (P = 0.000). In 27 (0.4%) cases, the cervical ribs were bilateral; whereas in 21 (0.3%) cases, they were unilateral with 8 (0.1%) on the left and 13 (0.2%) on the right. There was no age-related variability with prevalence (P = -0.813). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of cervical rib in the study population is low and within the known range as seen in other geographical regions of Nigeria.

Prune belly syndrome a rare case report

A case of a rare congenital anomaly of Prune Belly Syndrome (PBS) predominant in males is presented. 1 Incidence is 1 in 40;000 lives births. The complete syndrome is characterized by ; dilatation of the upper urinary tract; lateral deviation of the dilated ureters large bladder with urachal anomalies; vesicoureteral reflux; dilatation of the prostatic utricle; undescended testis and patchy agenesis of the anterior 2 abdominal wall. All the above features may not necessarily be present in one single case. The major anomaly is due to failure of proper development of both the urinary tract and anterior abdominal wall. Respiratory; cardiac; skeletal and anorectal malformations may be present as well