Search

Introduction: point prevalence surveys have been used as a standardized tool to monitor antibiotic consumption to inform antimicrobial stewardship interventions in many countries. The 2021 WHO model list of Essential Medicines has classified antibiotics into three groups: access, watch and reserve. The aim of this paper is to describe the antibiotics used within a space of three years between 2018 and 2021 at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital based on WHO AWaRe classification. Methods: three point-prevalence surveys were conducted in the wards in our 500-bed tertiary hospital in 2018, 2019 and 2021. Each ward was surveyed on a particular day within a four-week period. The wards were grouped into medical and surgical for comparison. Antibiotics were classified as access, watch, and reserve. Validated data were analyzed with IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 20.0 (Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.). Results: a total of 526 patients were surveyed out of which 344 were on antimicrobial therapy with a total of 687 antibiotic prescriptions. The overall prevalence of patients who received at least one antimicrobial was 65.4% (62.4 -72.8%). The Access group of antibiotics made up 48.2% of prescriptions while the watch group made up 50.5% of prescriptions. More watch Antibiotics were prescribed by surgical wards (49.7%) than by medical wards (43.7%). Conclusion: the use of Access group antibiotics in our hospital falls below the WHO target level in both medical and surgical wards. There is a need for strengthening antibiotic stewardship activities to reduce the use of watch group antibiotics and limit antimicrobial resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tuberculosis of the cervix is reported to be very rare with clinical features that are indistinguishable from that of invasive cancer of the cervix. We report the case of a 31 year old nulliparous lady that presented with intermenstrual bleeding and a persistent abnormal vaginal discharge after receiving several forms of treatment for cervical cancer. Vaginal examination revealed an extensive friable erythematous lesion affecting the entire ectocervix. Tuberculosis was confirmed following biopsy of the lesion and the patient was successfully managed with a course of anti-tuberculosis medication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Infection prevention and control (IPC) programs are important in controlling healthcare associated infections (HAIs). In low and middle income countries, IPC programs targeting HCAIs are frequently underdeveloped and sometimes nonexistent. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess and identify gaps in IPC practice across selected hospitals in Akwa Ibom State. Methods: This was a survey of hospitals in Akwa Ibom State in Southern Nigeria. Information for each hospital was provided by IPC representatives of each hospital through a 24 point questionnaire covering administrative controls, hand hygiene, available laboratory tests for infections, and waste disposal. Results: There were 25 hospitals across 15 local government areas in the state included in the survey. The average number of beds in the hospitals was 57 (6--300); the average number of wards was 6 (1--20); the average number of staff was: doctors 9 (2--40); nurses 33 (6--200); other staff 19 (3--100). There were 16 hospitals with a designated staff to oversee IPC activities, 4 with a staff dedicated to IPC activities, and one with a written IPC policy. Adequate number of hand washing stations was reported in 11 centers while 9 had regular supply of running water and 9 had regular supply of alcohol based hand sanitizers for hand hygiene. There was low capacity for onsite microbiology cultures to identify infectious agents, although most centers had HIV and hepatitis B virus rapid diagnostic test kits. Conclusion: There are variable levels of implementation of IPC in hospitals in Akwa Ibom State with a lack of structure, guidelines, and resources being a hindrance to high level of IPC in these hospitals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Bacterial vaginosis are among the most common causes of abnormal vaginal discharges and both represent consequences of imbalance in normal vaginal flora and pH. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine and compare the prevalence of Bacterial vaginosis (BV) and colonization with Candida among women attending Obstetrics and Gynecology clinics in a tertiary hospital. Methodology: This was a hospital based cross-sectional study. Pregnant and non-pregnant women attending Obstetrics and Gynaecology clinics in Uyo, Nigeria were interviewed using a structured questionnaire and self-administered vaginal swabs were collected by each participant. Nugent score was determined by Gram stain of smears of vaginal swabs while colonization by Candida was determined by inoculating each swab onto Saboraud's agar and checking for growth of characteristic colonies after overnight incubation at 37°C. Chi square test was used to determine associations between variables. Results: Nugent score was positive for bacterial vaginosis in 40% of participants and Candida colonization was present in 49.52% of participants. There was significant association between BV status and colonization with Candida spp. Conclusion: There is an inverse relationship between BV and Candida colonization among participants in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]