A comparison of the academic performance and intelligence scores of asthmatic and nonasthmatic primary school pupils in Enugu State, Nigeria Obinna Chukwuebuka Nduagubam Nigerian Medical Journal 2019 60(1):1-8 Background: Children with asthma (subjects), just as their non asthmatic colleagues, are expected to perform optimally academically and with a good intelligent score. A number of activities in children with asthma may be affected by asthmatic attacks including their education/academic performance. Report on academic performance and IQ of school children with asthma and comparisons with those without asthma (controls) within and outside Nigeria are scanty. Aims: This study compared the academic performance and IQ of asthmatics and nonasthmatic school children. Materials and Methods: One hundred and twenty children with asthma aged 5-11 years were consecutively recruited at the asthma clinic of UNTH Enugu and their age, gender and socio-economic class-matched normal classmates were enrolled as controls. Academic performance of the children with asthma was studied using the overall scores achieved in the three term examinations in the preceding academic year (2012/2013), while their IQ was determined using the Draw-A-Person-test. The findings were compared with that of the 120 controls. Results: The median (range) overall academic scores for the subjects 79.04% (36.08%-99.57%) was similar to that of controls 80.01% (50.65%-97.47%) (U = 6804, P = 0.461). However, a significant number of subjects compared to controls had poor academic performance. The mean IQ scores for subjects (123.28 ± 21.45) and controls (118.41 ± 19.87) did not differ significantly (t = 1.83; P = 0.069). There was also a significant and negative correlation (Pearson's) between age and mean DAPQ in both the subjects and controls (r = -0.377, P < 0.001; r = -0.492, P < 0.001 respectively. Conclusions: The intelligence scores and overall academic performance of children with asthma compares favorably with that of children without asthma.

Appropriate documentation of the timing of events in the management of women with postpartum hemorrhage in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital: A 2-year audit Zainab Garba, Hauwa Musa Abdullahi, Murtala Yusuf, Idris Usman Takai, Ibrahim Danladi Muhammad Nigerian Medical Journal 2019 60(1):9-12 Background: Appropriate documentation of the timing of events in the management of women with postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is associated with better outcome. Objective: To find out how best the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, fares when compared with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) guidelines about appropriate documentation of the timing of events in the management of PPH. Methodology: It was a retrospective study based on findings obtained from the case folders of women who had PPH between January 2016 and December 2017. A structured pro forma was used to extract information such as personal data, type of PPH, vital signs of patients, sequence of events, administration of pharmacological agents, and timing of interventions. Results: There were 5202 patients who presented to the labor ward, and 129 of them were cases of PPH giving an incidence of 2.48%. The mean age of the patients was 20.38 ± 1.13 years, and about half of them (47.6%) were multiparas. There was appropriate documentation in terms of initial assessment, resuscitation, and investigations as the percentages of standards achieved are 85%, 78.6%, and 85.7%, respectively. Sixty-one percent of the patients had treatment within the time recommended and 56% had treatment with appropriate uterotonics. Appropriate documentation of major surgeries according to the guidelines was achieved in 12% of cases. Conclusion: There was good performance in documentation of initial management of patients with PPH when compared with the RCOG guidelines but suboptimal performance in timing of major surgical interventions.

Hypertension and sudden unexpected deaths: An autopsy study of four hundred and seventy-seven brought-in-dead in a tertiary health center Francis Adedayo Faduyile, Sunday Sokunle Soyemi, Daniel Ayodele Sanni, Kikelomo Ololade Wright Nigerian Medical Journal 2019 60(1):13-16 Introduction: Hypertension is an important and major public health concern globally. One of the major causes of sudden death worldwide is hypertension. This study is to present the morphological pattern of deaths at autopsy of those patients who were brought-in-dead (BID) and who had hypertensive heart disease (HHD) as the underlying illness. Materials and Methods: This is a 6-year retrospective autopsy study of BID patients as a result of HHD seen at our department between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2015. The autopsy findings and data retrieved were analyzed using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20. Test for statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: A total of 477 deaths (44%) as a result of HHD were recorded out of the 1016 BID during the period under study. The age ranged from 21 to 92 years with a mean age of 52 ± 14.0 years and a male to female ratio of 1.8:1. The 5th decade of life was the most common age group encountered. The most common cause of death was acute left ventricular failure (67.8%), and myocardial infarction was the least common (1.7%). Conclusions: Acute left ventricular heart failure was the most common cause of sudden death as a result of hypertension and was followed by intracerebral hemorrhage. In the female gender, sudden deaths were most common in the 6th decade and in the male gender most sudden deaths were seen in the 5th decade.

Immunohistochemical expression of vimentin in invasive breast carcinoma and its correlation with clinicopathological parameters Chaitnya D Khillare, Siddhi Gaurish Sinai Khandeparkar, Avinash R Joshi, Maithili M Kulkarni, Bageshri P Gogate, Shivani Battin Nigerian Medical Journal 2019 60(1):17-21 Introduction: Breast carcinoma (BCa) is one of the most common cancers among women globally. Increased vimentin expression has been reported in various epithelial cancers. Aim: This study examines the expression of vimentin in BCa and its correlation with various prognostic factors such as tumor size, histological grade, lymph node status, estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), HER2/neu, and Ki67 status. Materials and Methods: Seventy cases of BCa diagnosed between 2014 and 2015 were included in the study. A technique of manual tissue microarray was employed for the analysis of expression of immunohistochemical (IHC) markers such as vimentin, ER, PR, HER2/neu, and Ki67. Results were subjected to statistical analysis. Results: Vimentin was found positive in 53 (75.7%) cases of BCa, of which 18 cases (25.7%) were triple-negative BCa (TNBC). Positivity for ER, PR, Her2, and Ki67 was 32.8%, 31.4%, 60%, and 99%, respectively. Vimentin expression was significantly associated with ER negativity. All 53 cases expressing vimentin showed positive Ki67 labeling index; however, this was not statistically significant. Maximum vimentin expression was observed in the age group >50 years, postmenopausal women, BCa cases showing lymphovascular invasion (LVI), axillary lymph node metastasis, higher stage and higher grade of tumor, negative PR expression, and positive HER2/neu expression. However, this was not statistically significant. In TNBC, vimentin expression was significantly associated with histological grade and LVI. Conclusion: Vimentin expression was associated with well-established poor prognostic factors of BCa. Vimentin expression if routinely included in histopathology report would aid in better understanding of tumor behavior.

The prevalence of occult hepatitis B infection among blood donors in Lagos, Nigeria Akinsegun Akinbami, Mulikat Badiru, Ebele Uche, Charles Onyekwere, Kamal Ismail, Olusola Olowoselu, Esther Oluwole, Aisha Suleiman, Benjamin Augustine, Hakeem Olaosebikan Nigerian Medical Journal 2019 60(1):22-26 Background: In occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, the HBV DNA is present in the blood or liver tissue in patients negative for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) with or without anti-HBV antibodies. Thus, the absence of HBsAg in the blood only reduces the risk of transmission and is not sufficient enough to ensure the absence of HBV infection. Aim: This study was aimed at determining the prevalence of occult HBV infection among blood donors in Lagos. Study Designs: A cross-sectional study was done among 101 consenting blood donors at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, between November 2016 and January 2017. Materials and Methods: HBV DNA analysis and viral load were done at the Molecular Laboratory of National Sickle Cell Centre, Idi Araba, Lagos, for all the HBsAg negative blood donors screened by rapid kit at Ikeja. Results: The prevalence of occult HBV DNA among the participants was 3% consisting of 3% prevalence of HBV DNA surface antigen and 0% prevalence for precore and core of the HBV DNA. Conclusion: The low prevalence (3%) of occult HBV seen in our study does not make it cost-effective to routinely screen blood donors or the general population for HBV infection using DNA polymerase chain reaction.

A randomized controlled trial to compare preemptive analgesic efficacy and safety of pregabalin and gabapentin for succinylcholine-induced myalgia Prachi Jain, Uma A Bhosale, Girish Soundattikar Nigerian Medical Journal 2019 60(1):27-32 Background: Succinylcholine is a drug of choice for rapid induction of anesthesia but produces postoperative myalgia. Preemptive analgesia is intended to decrease perception of pain before exposure to painful stimuli. Pregabalin and gabapentin, analogs of the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma aminobutyric acid, are effective in several models of neuropathic pain, incisional, inflammatory, and formalin-induced injury. However, the data available on their preemptive analgesic efficacy in succinylcholine myalgia are sparse. This study was designed to compare the preemptive analgesic efficacy and safety of pregabalin and gabapentin. Materials and Methods: This randomized clinical trial included 120 surgical patients of either sex, between 18 and 70 years, and of American Society of Anesthesiologists-I/II grade. Patients were randomly allocated to control and test groups; received respective treatments 30 min before induction of anesthesia. Myalgia and pain scores were recorded using the myalgia scale and visual analog/facial rating scale at awakening at 6, 12, 18, and 24 h, respectively. Postoperative analgesic requirement over 24 h was recorded. Data were analyzed using OpenEpi (Andrew G. Dean and Kevin M. Sullivan, Atlanta, GA, USA) statistical softwares. Results: Significantly lower pain scores were observed in the pregabalin group at 6, 12, and 24 h, and in gabapentin group at 24 h as compared to control and placebo (P < 0.05). They were however found to be equianalgesic when compared to each other (P > 0.05). Pregabalin-treated patients were more comfortable throughout with significantly less postoperative myalgia and analgesic requirement (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Results strongly suggest the preemptive analgesic efficacy of a single oral dose of pregabalin and gabapentin over diclofenac in postoperative myalgia and pain management. However, on the basis of safety profile, pregabalin may be preferred over gabapentin in succinylcholine-induced myalgia.

Assessment of GeneXpert MTB/RIF performance by type and level of health-care facilities in Nigeria Mustapha Gidado, Nkiru Nwokoye, Chidubem Ogbudebe, Bassey Nsa, Peter Nwadike, Prisca Ajiboye, Rupert Eneogu, Sani Useni, Emeka Elom, Adebola Lawanson Nigerian Medical Journal 2019 60(1):33-39 Setting: Nigeria adopted GeneXpert MTB Rif as a primary diagnostic tool were available and accessible since 2016. The current geographical coverage of GeneXpert machines by LGAs stands at 48%, with a varied access and utilization. Objectives: To assess the association between the type and level of health facilities implementing GeneXpert MTB/Rif and performance outcome of the machines in Nigeria. Study Design: Retrospective secondary data analysis of GeneXpert performance for 2017 from GXAlert database. The independent variables were type and levels of health care facilities, and dependent variables were GeneXpert performance (utilization, successful test, error rates, MTB detected, and Rifampicin resistance detected). Results: Only 366 health care facilities are currently implementing and reporting GeneXpert performance, the distribution is 86.9% and 13.1% public and private health care facilities respectively, and only 6.3% of the facilities are primary health care. Of 354,321 test conducted in 2017, 91.5% were successful, and among unsuccessful test 6.8% were errors. The yield was 16.8% MTB detected (54,713) among which 6.8% had Rif resistance. The GeneXpert utilization rate was higher among private health care facilities (55.8%) compared to 33.3% among public health care facilities. There was a statistically significant difference in the number of successful test between public and private health facility-based machines as determined by one-way ANOVA (F(1,2) = 21.81, P = 0.02) and between primary, secondary and tertiary level health facility-based machines (F(1,2) = 41.24, P < 0.01). Conclusion: Nigeria with very low TB coverage should rapidly scale-up and decentralize GeneXpert services to the private sector.

Rare case of primary clear cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder Maithili Mandar Kulkarni, Siddhi Gaurish Sinai Khandeparkar, Avinash R Joshi, Pallavi Bhayekar Nigerian Medical Journal 2019 60(1):40-42 Cancers of the urinary bladder account for about 3.2% of all cancers worldwide. Clear cell adenocarcinomas (CCAs) of urinary bladder are rare. CCA must be differentiated from benign condition such as nephrogenic adenoma (NA) as well as malignant conditions such as urothelial carcinoma with clear cells, metastasis from ovary and kidney, and urinary bladder myomelanocytic tumor. The diagnosis is based on characteristic histopathological and immunohistochemical features. We present a rare case of CCA of urinary bladder with aggressive clinical behavior in a 72-year-old female.

Abdominal pregnancy: A case report of a viable nondysmorphic fetus Oluwaseyi Isaiah Odelola, Adebayo Adekunle Akadri, Luther Agbonyegbeni Agaga, Sijuade Ayodele Dada Nigerian Medical Journal 2019 60(1):43-45 Abdominal pregnancy is a rare form of ectopic gestation. It accounts for about 0.4% of all cases of ectopic pregnancy, and often associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Clinical presentation varies, and diagnosis is commonly challenging. Although ultrasound is helpful in early gestation, this could be unsatisfactory at advanced gestational age. Hence, a high index of suspicion is required in the diagnosis. We present a case of secondary abdominal pregnancy in a 27-year-old gravida 2 para 0 + 1 at an estimated gestational age of 33 weeks and 5 days. She had ultrasound scan done at 9 weeks and 2 days confirming the diagnosis, but declined surgery to seek spiritual intervention. She subsequently presented with generalized abdominal pain and fainting attack. She had exploratory laparotomy with delivery of a live female baby with no congenital anomaly. The placenta was attached to the left infundibulopelvic ligament and was delivered wholly without remnants. She was discharged on the 8th postoperative day, and the baby was discharged after 14 days from the neonatal intensive care unit. Accurate diagnosis and prompt intervention with evaluation of placenta attachment is vital to prevent adverse consequences.