Introduction: Abdominal trauma is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in low- and middle-income countries. There is a paucity of trauma data in this region and this study aimed to show the ...pattern of presentation and outcome of patients with abdominal trauma at a North-Central Nigerian Teaching Hospital. Methods: This was a retrospective, observational study of patients with abdominal trauma who presented at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital from January 2013 to December 2019. Patients with clinical and/or radiological evidence of abdominal trauma were identified, and data extracted and analyzed. Results: A total of 87 patients were included in the study. There were 73 males and 14 females (5.2:1) with a mean age of 34.2 years. Blunt abdominal injury occurred in 53 (61%) patients with 10 patients (11%) having concomitant extra-abdominal injuries. A total of 105 abdominal organ injuries occurred in 87 patients with the small bowel being the most frequently injured organ in penetrating trauma, while in blunt abdominal injury, the spleen was most commonly injured. A total of 70 patients (80.5%) had emergency abdominal surgery with a morbidity rate of 38.6% and negative laparotomy rate of 2.9%. There were 15 deaths in the period accounting for 17% of patients with sepsis as the most common cause of death (66%). Shock at presentation, late presentation >12 h, need for perioperative intensive care unit admission, and repeat surgery were associated with a higher risk of mortality (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Abdominal trauma in this setting is associated with a significant amount of morbidity and mortality. Typical patients present late and with poor physiologic parameters often resulting in an undesirable outcome. There should be steps targeted at preventive policies focused on reducing the incidence of road traffic crashes, terrorism, and violent crimes as well as improving health care infrastructure to cater to this specific group of patients.
Understanding the molecular and phenotypic profile of colorectal cancer (CRC) in West Africa is vital to addressing the regions rising burden of disease. Tissue from unselected Nigerian patients was ...analyzed with a multigene, next-generation sequencing assay. The rate of microsatellite instability is significantly higher among Nigerian CRC patients (28.1%) than patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA, 14.2%) and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC, 8.5%, P < 0.001). In microsatellite-stable cases, tumors from Nigerian patients are less likely to have APC mutations (39.1% vs. 76.0% MSKCC P < 0.001) and WNT pathway alterations (47.8% vs. 81.9% MSKCC, P < 0.001); whereas RAS pathway alteration is more prevalent (76.1% vs. 59.6%, P = 0.03). Nigerian CRC patients are also younger and more likely to present with rectal disease (50.8% vs. 33.7% MSKCC, P < 0.001). The findings suggest a unique biology of CRC in Nigeria, which emphasizes the need for regional data to guide diagnostic and treatment approaches for patients in West Africa.
Background Medical educators have always been desirous of the best methods for formative and summative evaluation of trainees. The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is an approach for ...student assessment in which aspects of clinical competence are evaluated in a comprehensive, consistent, and structured manner with close attention to the objectivity of the process. Though popular in most medical schools globally, its use in Nigeria medical schools appears limited. Objectives This study was conceived to explore students’ perception about the acceptability of OSCE process and to provide feedback to be used to improve the assessment technique. Design A cross-sectional survey was conducted on final-year medical students, who participated in the final MBBS surgery examination in June 2011. A 19-item self-administered structured questionnaire was employed to obtain relevant data on demographics of respondents and questions evaluating the OSCE stations in terms of the quality of instructions and organization, learning opportunities, authenticity and transparency of the process, and usefulness of the OSCE as an assessment instrument compared with other formats. Students’ responses were based on a 5-point Likert scales ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. The data were analyzed using SPSS, version 15 (SPSS, Inc, Chicago, IL). Setting The study took place at the University of Ilorin, College of Health Science. Participants A total of 187 final-year medical students were enrolled in to the survey. Results Of 187 eligible students, 151 completed the self-administered questionnaire representing 80.7% response rate. A total of 61 (40.4%) students felt that it was easy to understand written instructions at the OSCE stations. In total, 106 (70.2%) students felt that the time allocated to each station was adequate. A total of 89 (58.9%) students agreed that the OSCE accurately measured their knowledge and skill, and 85 (56.3%) reported that OSCE enhanced their communication skill. Of the respondents, 80 (53%) felt that OSCE caused them to be nervous, and 73 (48.3%) expressed their concern about the interevaluator variability at manned stations. OSCE was perceived to be the second most fair test format by 53 (35.1%) respondents, and 56 (37.1%) also suggested that OSCE needs to be used much more than the other assessment formats. Conclusion The findings in this survey appear reassuring regarding students’ perception about the validity, objectivity, comprehensiveness, and overall organization of OSCE in the department of surgery. The need to introduce OSCE early in the surgical curriculum is also underscored. The overall feedback was very useful and will facilitate a critical review of the process.
Abstract
Background
The help-seeking interval and primary-care interval are points of delays in breast cancer presentation. To inform future intervention targeting early diagnosis of breast cancer, ...we described the contribution of each interval to the delay and the impact of delay on tumor progression.
Method
We conducted a multicentered survey from June 2017 to May 2018 hypothesizing that most patients visited the first healthcare provider within 60 days of tumor detection. Inferential statistics were by t-test, chi-square test, and Wilcoxon-Signed Rank test at
p
-value 0.05 or 95% confidence limits. Time-to-event was by survival method. Multivariate analysis was by logistic regression.
Results
Respondents were females between 24 and 95 years (
n
= 420). Most respondents visited FHP within 60 days of detecting symptoms (230 (60, 95% CI 53–63). Most had long primary-care (237 of 377 (64 95% CI 59–68) and detection-to-specialist (293 (73% (95% CI 68–77)) intervals. The primary care interval (median 106 days, IQR 13–337) was longer than the help-seeking interval (median 42 days, IQR 7–150) Wilcoxon signed-rank test
p
= 0.001. There was a strong correlation between the length of primary care interval and the detection-to-specialist interval (r = 0.9, 95% CI 0.88–0.92). Patronizing the hospital, receiving the correct advice, and having a big tumor (> 5 cm) were associated with short intervals.
Tumors were detected early, but most became advanced before arriving at the specialist clinic. The difference in tumor size between detection and arriving at a specialist clinic was 5.0 ± 4.9 cm (95% CI 4.0–5.0). The hazard of progressing from early to locally advanced disease was least in the first 30 days (3%). The hazard was 31% in 90 days.
Conclusion
Most respondents presented early to the first healthcare provider, but most arrived late at a specialist clinic. The primary care interval was longer than the help-seeking interval. Most tumors were early at detection but locally advanced before arriving in a specialist clinic. Interventions aiming to shorten the primary care interval will have the most impact on time to breast cancer presentation for specialist oncology care in Nigeria.
To describe the risk factors for late detection and advanced-stage diagnosis among patients who detected their BC early.
Using secondary data, we analyzed the impact of socio-demographic factors, ...premorbid experience, BC knowledge, and health-seeking pattern on the risk of late detection and advanced-stage diagnosis after early BC detection. Test of statistical significance in SPSS and EasyR was set at 5% using Sign-test, chi-square tests (of independence and goodness of fit), odds ratio, or risk ratio as appropriate.
Most socio-demographic factors did not affect detection size or risk of disease progression in the 405 records analyzed. High BC knowledge, p-value = 0.001, and practicing breast self-examination (BSE) increased early detection, p-value = 0.04, with a higher probability (OR 1.6 (95% CI 1.1-2.5) of detecting <2cm lesions. Visiting alternative care (RR 1.5(95% CI 1.2-1.9), low BC knowledge (RR 1.3(95% CI 1.1-1.9), and registering concerns for hospital care increased the risk of advanced-stage diagnosis after early detection (64% (95% CI 55-72)). Adhering to the monthly BSE schedule reduced the risk of advanced-stage diagnosis by -25% (95% CI -49, -1.1) in the presence of socioeconomic barriers.
Strategies to increase BC knowledge and BSE may help BC downstaging, especially among women with common barriers to early diagnosis.
Cancer is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in the world today. The third most common cancer and which is most diet related is colorectal cancer (CRC). Although there is complexity and ...limited understanding in the link between diet and CRC, the advancement in research methods have demonstrated the involvement of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) as key regulators of gene expression. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) which are a class of ncRNAs are key players in cancer related pathways in the context of dietary modulation. The involvement of ncRNA in cancer progression has recently been clarified throughout the last decade. ncRNAs are involved in biological processes relating to tumor onset and progression. The advances in research have given insights into cell to cell communication, by highlighting the pivotal involvement of extracellular vesicle (EV) associated-ncRNAs in tumorigenesis. The abundance and stability of EV associated ncRNAs act as a new diagnostic and therapeutic target for cancer. The understanding of the deranging of these molecules in cancer can give access to modulating the expression of the ncRNAs, thereby influencing the cancer phenotype. Food derived exosomes/vesicles (FDE) are gaining interest in the implication of exosomes in cell-cell communication with little or no understanding to date on the role FDE plays. There are resident microbiota in the colon; to which the imbalance in the normal intestinal occurrence leads to chronic inflammation and the production of carcinogenic metabolites that lead to neoplasm. Limited studies have shown the implication of various types of microbiome in CRC incidence, without particular emphasis on fungi and protozoa. This review discusses important dietary factors in relation to the expression of EV-associated ncRNAs in CRC, the impact of diet on the colon ecosystem with particular emphasis on molecular mechanisms of interactions in the ecosystem, the influence of homeostasis regulators such as glutathione, and its conjugating enzyme-glutathione S-transferase (GST) polymorphism on intestinal ecosystem, oxidative stress response, and its relationship to DNA adduct fighting enzyme-0-6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase. The understanding of the molecular mechanisms and interaction in the intestinal ecosystem will inform on the diagnostic, preventive and prognosis as well as treatment of CRC.
BACKGROUNDThe estimated incidence of colorectal cancer is rising in Nigeria, where most patients present with advanced disease. Earlier detection of colorectal cancer is a goal of the Nigerian ...National Cancer Control Plan, but the utility of fecal-based screening is unclear. This study aimed to assess the fecal immunochemical test as a colorectal cancer screening modality in average-risk individualS in Nigeria. METHODSA population-based, cross-sectional study of qualitative fecal immunochemical test-based colorectal cancer screening was done in asymptomatic, average-risk participants aged 45-75 years in three states in Nigeria (Osun, Kwara, and Lagos). Participants were invited to enrol using age-stratified and sex-stratified convenience sampling following community outreach. Exclusion criteria included a personal history of colorectal cancer or rectal bleeding in the previous 6 months, a first-degree relative with a known diagnosis of colorectal cancer, or a comorbidity that would preclude conscious sedation or general anesthesia. Participants with positive fecal immunochemical test results underwent colonoscopy, and the positive predictive value of fecal immunochemical testing for colorectal cancer and advanced adenomas (≥10 mm, tubulovillous or villous or high-grade dysplasia) was calculated. Data on demographics and acceptability of fecal immunochemical testing and colonoscopy were collected. FINDINGSBetween January and April 2021, 2330 participants were enrolled in the study and received a fecal immunochemical test, which was returned by 2109 participants. 1677 participants tested negative and 432 tested positive. Of these 432 participants, 285 underwent a colonoscopy (235 showed no polyps or cancer, 47 had polyps identified, and three had colorectal cancer identified). Of the 47 participants who had polyps identified, 20 had advanced adenomas diagnosed. The median age was 57 years (IQR 50-63), 958 (41%) were male and 1372 (59%) were female, and 68% had at least a secondary-level education. Participants were evenly spread across wealth quintiles. The positivity rate of the fecal immunochemical test was 21% overall (432 of 2109; 95% CI 20-21%), 11% (51 of 455; 95% CI 10-12) in Lagos, 20% (215 of 1052; 95% CI 20-21) in Osun, and 28% (166 of 597; 95% CI 27-29) in Kwara. Among the patients with a positive fecal immunochemical test who completed colonoscopy, the positive predictive value for invasive colorectal cancer was 1·1% (95% CI 0·3-3·3), and 7·0% (4·5-10·8) for advanced adenoma. The acceptability of fecal immunochemical screening among participants was very high. INTERPRETATIONColorectal cancer screening with qualitative fecal immunochemical tests in Nigeria is feasible and acceptable to average-risk asymptomatic participants. However, the low positive predictive value for advanced neoplasia and high endoscopy burden investigating false positives suggests it might not be an appropriate screening tool in this setting. FUNDINGThompson Family Foundation, Prevent Cancer Foundation, National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute Program Cancer Center.
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