Utility and effectiveness of orbito-ocular B-scan ultrasonography in an African developing country.

BACKGROUND: Diagnostic orbito-ocular ultrasonography is a safe, affordable, and cost-effective procedure that is especially suited for resource-poor developing countries. Periodic evaluation of its utility and effectiveness is important in the light of phenomenal advances in medical imaging. OBJECTIVES: To assess the utility and effectiveness of B-scan orbito-ocular ultrasonography in a Nigerian ophthalmic patient population. METHODS: The Hansa Clinic's database was retrospectively reviewed, between January 2006 and December 2010, to obtain patients' relevant demographic and clinical data. Results . The subjects comprised 119 males and 81 females. The leading sonographic diagnoses were ocular (90.4%): retinal detachment-23.3%, cataract-14.0%, and vitreous haemorrhage-10.5%; orbital (8.3%): 'mass lesion'-4.8% and myopathies-0.8%. The agreement between clinical and sonographic diagnoses was complete in 35.5% eyes. CONCLUSION: At Hansa Clinics, intraocular lesions are the main findings of diagnostic orbito-ocular sonography. There is poor agreement between clinical and sonographic diagnoses. Improved correlation of patients' clinic-pathologic data is suggested.

Impact of demographic and psychosocial factors on hysterosalpingography pain and discomfort

Background: Hysterosalpingography (HSG) is an important diagnostic procedure in the investigation of infertility. It is the radiographic delineation of uterine and tubal cavities and is part of the diagnostic evaluation of conjugal infertility.1 This diagnostic procedure is associated with high levels of anxiety, pain and stress from various causes. This study was designed to investigate the impact of demographic and psychosocial factors on HSG pain and discomfort. Method: One hundred hysterosalpingography referrals were recruited for this study. Verbal detector scales were used to assess pain perception, Likert scales were used to assess the psychosocial variables, while visual analogue scales were used to assess discomfort. Pearson's correlations were conducted. Tests were two-tailed, with p < 0.05 indicating statistical significance. Results: Some of the patients (34%) indicated that the administration of analgesics prior to the procedure reduced the pain and discomfort associated with the procedure. Mean ± standard deviation of pain and discomfort were 2.82 ± 0.77 and 6.36 ± 2.19 respectively. Age correlated signifi cantly with pain perception (r = -0.22, P < 0.05), while pain correlated signifi cantly with perception of discomfort(r = -0.46, P < 0.05). Conclusion: Age signifi cantly correlated with pain. This is a factor that could be harnessed for clinical use