Search

Background: The aim of this study was to educate secondary school students on etiology, risk factors, clinical features, treatment, and prevention of scabies; to evaluate their knowledge base on scabies before and after an educational intervention; and to reassess this knowledge base and behavioral change, 6 months after, on a second visit., Methods: Questionnaires with standard questions on scabies, graded to a maximum score of 10, were administered to students in junior secondary Classes 1 and 2 across 4 states in Nigeria. Information obtained included subjects' demographics, scabies symptomatology, risks, and preventive behaviors. Students with active scabies were diagnosed and treated. Data were analyzed with STATA., Results: The mean test scores for the pretest and posttest at first visit were 2.82 ± 1.38 and 6.30 ± 1.09, respectively. This difference was statistically significant at t = 3.95, P = 0.004. Six months later, when the same schools were re-visited, the mean test scores for the pretest and posttest were 4.63 ± 0.54 and 5.87 ± 0.25, respectively. This difference was also significant at t = 4.13, P = 0.003. The prevalence of scabies was 3.5% at first visit and 4.34% at second visit; t = 0.24, P = 0.41., Conclusions: Secondary school students lack basic education on scabies and exhibit high-risk behaviors for scabies transmission. Knowledge on scabies needs constant reinforcement., Competing Interests: None

There is a critical shortage of trained human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) providers in resource-limited settings. To strengthen preservice HIV training for postgraduate health care providers, University of Maryland's Institute of Human Virology and Center for Clinical Care and Research Nigeria collaborated with University of Nigeria to plan and implement a comprehensive 4-week course in HIV medicine. The first course was piloted with 30 postgraduate doctors. Mean objective structured clinical examinations (OSCE), pretest, and posttest scores score were 51%, 53%, and 75%, respectively; follow-up examination at 6 months showed mean score of 74%. In multivariate regression analysis, pretest score was positively associated with posttest score (22.03, P < .001) and OSCE (0.29, P = .04), age negatively associated with pretest score (-0.94, P = .001), and female gender positively associated with OSCE score (6.15, P = .05). Six- and 18-month online surveys revealed trainees continued to apply knowledge and skills gained. North-south university collaborations to develop practicum-based preservice curricula offer a sustainable way to strengthen preservice evidence-based HIV medicine training with long-lasting retention of skills and knowledge.

Purpose: Epilepsy related stigma is a barrier to recovery and has been linked to a broad range of psychosocial consequences and has the potential to influence the provision of care to people with epilepsy. Understanding the determinants of enacted stigma in epilepsy is relevant in the understanding of the burden of epilepsy in Nigeria., Method: Using a semi-structured questionnaire, a cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among rural dwellers receiving treatment for epilepsy in a tertiary referral specialist hospital in Enugu, south east Nigeria., Results: The participants consisted of 108 patients, 63% of whom were males. Most patients 99(91.7%) reported experiencing stigma in the past. The commonest forms of enacted stigma were being regarded as having 'spiritual attack' 88(81.5%) and restraining from interacting with others 49(45.4%). Most individuals who received nonorthodox treatment 55(55.6%) experienced stigma. Severely stigmatized individuals were more likely to be females. Age of onset of epilepsy, use of non-orthodox treatment, seizures occurrence in public places and the presence of physical injuries positively correlated with enacted stigma., Conclusions: The burden of epilepsy related enacted stigma is high among rural dwellers attending a tertiary medical outpatient clinic in Enugu, southeast Nigeria., (Copyright © 2018 British Epilepsy Association. All rights reserved.)

Background: Several studies have been carried out to determine the patterns of skin diseases across Nigeria and results have shown changing patterns with the trend reflecting a higher tendency for allergic dermatoses in a majority of these studies. This study was carried out to evaluate the current clinical picture of patients presenting to our clinic., Materials and Methods: A prospective study of new patients seen in the skin clinic of University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Ituku- Ozalla, between November 2013 and August 2014 was carried out. A total of 387 patients' data was analysed. Data collected on patients' sociodemographic status and diagnosis were entered into SPSS Version 17 and analyzed. Diagnosis was based on clinical findings, laboratory diagnosis including biopsy and histopathology were requested when necessary to make a diagnosis., Results: There were more females 245 (63%) than males 142 (37%). Most of the patients (81.9%) were aged above 16years and the commonest skin disease was infections (29.5%) followed by allergic skin diseases (13.6%). There was a significant difference in levels of income of study participants across gender and females who were engaged in unskilled labour were more likely to earn lower than males., Conclusion: Comparing the study findings with an earlier one from the same center, there is a change in pattern with infections being the most common skin disease. These are largely preventable; public enlightenment campaigns and policies to discourage over the counter purchase of prescription strength corticosteroid creams are highly desirable.

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of active convulsive epilepsy and treatment gap in two Urban slums in Enugu South East Nigeria., Methods: A 3 phase cross-sectional descriptive study was done to survey individuals ≥ 15 years in 2 slums in Enugu, South East Nigeria., Results: The prevalence of epilepsy was 6.0 (95% CI: 5.9-6.0) per 1000 (men 4.4/1000, 95% CI: 2.3-6.4, women 7.8/1000, 95% CI: 4.9-10.4), p=0.06. The peak age of active convulsive epilepsy was 40-44 years (11.2 per 1000) with two smaller peaks at 25-29 and ≥ 50 years. The age and sex adjusted prevalence using WHO standard population and 2006 Nigerian census population were 5.9 per 1000 (95% CI: 4.0-7.9) and 5.4 per 1000 (95% CI: 3.4-7.4)., Conclusion: The prevalence of epilepsy is high in urban slums in Enugu. Nationwide studies should be done to find out the true prevalence in the country., (Copyright © 2016 British Epilepsy Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: The WHO introduced the syndromic management to help in the control of STIs in resource-poor settings. This needs to be adapted to local settings taking into consideration the prevalence of the various organisms causing STIs. This has given rise to a need to validate the algorithm. The study aimed to correlate the syndromic management treatment algorithm for vaginal discharge with the aetiological diagnosis based on laboratory investigations. Specifically, the sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive values of the syndromic management against a gold standard laboratory diagnosis were evaluated., Methods: A total of 195 consecutive patients presenting to the study sites with vaginal discharge were enrolled in the study. Information on sociodemographic data was obtained with the aid of questionnaires. Samples were taken and examined for candida, trichomonas, bacterial vaginosis (BV), chlamydia and gonorrheal infections, after speculum and vaginal examinations., Results: The sensitivity and positive predictive values (PPV) of the syndromic management in detecting vaginal infections performed better than corresponding values for cervicitis. The algorithm for cervicitis improved on addition of speculum examination (36% and 32.1% for sensitivity and PPV respectively)., Conclusion: The study shows that the syndromic diagnosis for vaginal discharge fares better for vaginitis, especially with addition of speculum examination. The application of syndromic diagnosis for cervicitis resulted in omission of patients who had evidence of cervical infections by bacteriologic examination.