Radiological assessment of the uterus and fallopian tubes in infertile women at Abakaliki, Nigeria.

OBJECTIVES: This study is aimed at determining the pattern of abnormalities in the Hysterosalpingograms of patients who attended the Radiology Unit of Ebonyi State University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki. METHOD: The 188 hysterosalpingograms conducted between January 2002 to December 2005 were analysed.. RESULTS: The mean age in this study was 31 years. Forty-one (21.8%) Hysterosalpingograms were normal. Abnormality of the Fallopian tubes constituted 54.6% of all abnormalities recorded, uterine 33.6% and cervical 11.8%. Cornual occlusion and hydrosalpinx were the leading abnormalities of the Fallopian tube, 32.2% and 20.3% respectively, while beading of the Fallopian tubes was the least tubal abnormality recorded in 1.4%. Uterine fibroid was the leading uterine abnormality in the study (44.5%), and uterine unicornis unicollis and bicornuate uterus were the least abnormalities of the uterus recorded with 0.8% respectively. Cervical synechiae was the only cervical abnormality recorded in the study (11.8%). CONCLUSION: Hysterosalpingogram is relevant in outlining abnormalities of the fallopian tube and uterus especially in patients with infertility. The study suggests that abnormalities of the Fallopian tube are probably still a prominent contributor to infertility in our community.

Radiological features of pulmonary tuberculosis in HIV-positive and HIV-negative adult patients in south-eastern Nigeria

Pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) is the most common clinical presentation of tuberculosis. This study was carried out to appraise the radiological features of PTB in adult HIV-positive and HIV-negative pa-tients. The chest radiographs of the patients were evaluated in the tuberculosis, leprosy, and endemic disease (TBL) clinic, Ebonyi State University Teach-ing Hospital (EBSUTH), Abakaliki, south-eastern Nigeria, from April 2004 to June 2006. Of the total of 117 individuals studied, 68 (58.1) were males and 49 (41.8%) females, indicating a male preponderance of 1.4:1. Up to 49.6% of the subjects had PTB/HIV co-infection. The highest prevalence of PTB/HIV co-infection was recorded among males aged 31­40 (12.8%), and females aged 21­30 (11.1%). The com-monest radiological features observed were cavitory lesions (64.1%), patchy opacities (44.4%), and hilar opacities (38.5%). Bilateral cavitory lesions, patchy opacities and hilar opacities were more prominent than the right-sided or left-sided ones and appeared more frequently among individuals with PTB/HIV co-infection. Perihilar patchy opacities, consolidation and pleural effusion were seen in 19.6%, 6.0%, and 4.3% of all cases, respectively. There was no statisti-cally significant difference in the association between the radiological features and patient category (χ2 = 17.74, df = 18, p = 0.47). The chest radiography re-mains an important tool in the diagnosis of PTB and will continue to provide essential information for the management and follow-up of patients

Idiopathic central precocious puberty in a Nigerian boy.

A case of idiopathic central precocious puberty, a rare condition is reported in a 2 1/2 year-old Nigerian boy. He presented with progressive genital growth, a growth spurt, advanced skeletal maturation, and inappropriately high serum concentrations of pituitary and gonadal sex homones for his age. There was no family history of precocious puberty. Physical examination and investigations revealed no identifiable cause for his precocity. Despite the overwhelming problems of malnutrition and infectious diseases in our environment, clinicians must have a high index of suspicion for endocrine disorders.

Radiologic management of impacted coin in the oesophagus--a case report.

The incidence of swallowed foreign body is high in children and young adults. The common age of occurrence is below 10 years of age. It is a well known paediatric emergency often requiring urgent oesophagoscopy. Majority of swallowed foreign bodies (FBs) are impacted at sites known conventionally as constrictions. The commonest FB swallowed by children is coins; by adults - bones, fish bones and large bolus of meat, and in the older age group - dentures. The most common presenting symptoms are drooling of saliva, dysphagia and odynophagia. The anatomic proximity of the upper airway and oesophagus permit the development of respiratory symptoms like cough and stridor. Long standing foreign body impaction with weight loss, consolidated lungs and failure to thrive are documented presentations of FB in the oesophagus. We present a case of a 20 year old male who inadvertently swallowed a coin which got impacted at the thoracic inlet - one of the conventional areas of constriction. He presented late with cough, stridor, odynophagia and weight loss. The presentation of weight loss that could arise from unduely prolonged odynophagia rather than from complications like fistula, empyema thoracis or ominous predisposing lesions like malignancy was noted. The case highlighted the oddity of an adult swallowing a coin, its impaction in the, oesophagus of an apparently healthy adult and the non-surgical retrieval of the FB by fluoroscopic guidance.