Abia State University Medical Students' Association Journal

Advancements in Cancer Treatment: Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy in the UK

Andrew Sunday Jr. — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Cancer remains one of the most formidable challenges in healthcare, affecting millions of lives around the world. In the United Kingdom, significant strides have been made in the field of cancer treatment, with innovative therapies like Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy (SABR) offering renewed hope to patients. SABR is a cutting-edge technique that delivers highly precise radiation therapy to treat various types of cancer. In this essay, I will be briefly exploring the advancements and impact of SABR in the UK's healthcare landscape.

Assessment of Ownership and Usage of Insecticide-Treated Nets Among Pregnant Women in Osisioma LGA, Abia State

Kalu OO, Herbert AB, Amanze MF, Igbokwe MI, Kanu CA — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Background: Malaria is a major public health problem with substantial risk for the pregnant woman, her fetus and the newborn child. Sequelae of malaria in pregnancy include maternal anaemia, intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), low birth weight, and premature deliveries among others. Insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) has been seen to play a role as an intermittent preventive method and should be adopted for optimal healthy life practices.

Objectives: The aim of this study is to determine the ownership and usage of ITNs among pregnant women in Osisioma LGA, Abia State.

Method: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study of the assessment of ownership and usage of ITNs among 253 pregnant women in Osisioma LGA, Abia State. Data was collected using questionnaires and was analyzed using SPSS V22.0

Results: In this study, the mean age of the women is 30.00years +/- SD [and the standard deviation is] 41.65. Respondents were predominantly married (56.5%), 38.3% single, 4.3% widowed and 0.8% separated/divorced. As regards their occupation, 43.9% were civil-servants, 39.9% self-employed and 16.2% unemployed. More than half of the subjects (76.3%) have attained a tertiary education, 15.4% secondary, 4.3% primary and 4% had no formal education.

Out of the respondents, the mean age of the women is 30.0 years and SD is 41.65. Respondents were predominantly married (56.5%) while the unmarried (38.3), divorced (0.8%), and widowed 4.3%. .43.9% were civil servants while self-employed represented (39.9%), with more than half (76.3%) having attained a tertiary education, primary education 4.3%, secondary 15.4% and no level of education, 4%?. 97.2% of the women have heard of ITNs while 2.8% have not heard, with major sources of information coming from the hospital/health centers (69%), mass media (15.7%) and friends and relatives (15.3%). Majority of the respondents own at least one ITN (71.1%). Most of their sources of acquisition came from health facility (66.4%), while the rest got from the market (10.75%) and pharmacy shops (5.1%). Out of those that owned, majority of the women use ITNs (78.3%). Most women who do not use it claimed it causes heat (64.7%), the rest claimed it causes rashes (10.5%) and some don’t relax with it (6%). There is a statistical significance between respondents’ level of education and knowledge of ITNs as p-value is <0.05. According to the study, there is a high level of knowledge (97.2%) on ITNs with a good ITN ownership (71.1%) and use (78.3% of population who own ITN).

Conclusion: This study generated information on the knowledge, ownership and usage of ITNs among pregnant women in Osisioma where it showed a high knowledge on ITNs fair ITN ownership and usage.

Issues such as discomfort and rashes during usage were seen as factors decreasing the utilization rate. Proper information on utilization of ITNs should be made available to these pregnant women especially in Ante-natal clinics to further increase the utilization rate.

Comparison of Some Haematological Parameters Between Malaria Parasites Infected Haemoglobin A and Haemoglobin S in Aba Metropolis

Peterside Sotonye Bethel — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Plasmodium parasite precisely Plasmodium falciparum causes lysis of the red blood cells culminating in increased morbidity and mortality of the vulnerable subjects. The presence of certain haemoglobin molecules are believed to confer resistance to the disease. This study aimed to compare specific hematologic characteristics between red blood cells infected with malaria in individuals with HbAA and HbAS. It is with the view to investigate the phenotype-dependent alterations. A total of 100: 50 HbAA and 50 HbAS subjects comprising 25 males and 25 females for each group were randomly recruited for this study. The parameters investigated were malaria parasitaemia, haemoglobin phenotype, Hb, PCV, RBC, TWBC, PLT, MCH, MCHC, and MCV. The presence of malaria parasitaemia was investigated microscopically by thick and thin blood film methods, haemoglobin phenotype by Hb electrophoresis and haematologic parameters using Sysmex SX – 1000i automated haematology analyzer. Data generated were statistically analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 25. A 60% and 40% of HbAA and HbAS subjects respectively were infected by malaria parasite. No statistical significant differences were observed between the Mean±SD (p > 0.05) of the Hb, PCV, RBC, TWBC, PLT, MCH, and MCHC of infected HBAA and HBAS subjects, while statistical significant difference (p < 0.05) was observed between the Mean±SD of the MCV (86.26±4.89fl vs 80.29±5.42fl). These outcomes suggest a higher susceptibility to malaria parasite among individuals displaying the HbAA phenotype in contrast to those with the HbAS phenotype. Additionally, the findings suggest that when infected with malaria, most hematological parameters between individuals with HbAA and HbAS genotypes do not show significant differences. However, there seems to be a notable difference in Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV), suggesting that this particular parameter might be affected differently by malaria infection in individuals with different phenotypes.

Prevalence of Preeclampsia Amongst Pregnant Women in a Multispecialty Hospital in Southeastern Nigeria: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study

Ogugua Darlington Ekene , Iwuagwu Johnbosco — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Background: Hypertensive disorders in Pregnancy including preeclampsia and eclampsia continue to contribute significantly to the rates of maternal and perinatal morbidity and morbidity in Nigeria and the world at large.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of preeclampsia and pregnancy outcomes among pregnant women at Medical City Hospital (MCH) from March 2nd, 2021 to November 30, 2023.

Materials and Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out based on pre-existing data of patients who presented at MCH over a two and half-year period. Data was collected from the electronic medical records of patients who attended the gynaecological clinic and analyzed with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0.
Results: Preeclampsia had a prevalence of 6.5% in the study period. Raised blood pressure and proteinuria were the key clinical features with 56.5%% of the patients having a BMI of 25kg/m² and above. Caesarean section was the commonest mode of delivery and while 37% of these patients developed complications, only 1 mortality was recorded.

Conclusion: Preeclampsia remains a key cause of maternal morbidity and mortality in Nigeria and more effort is needed to combat it.