Oral candidiasis is a common opportunistic infection of the oral cavity caused by an overgrowth of Candida species, the commonest being Candida albicans. The incidence varies depending on age and certain predisposing factors. There are three broad groupings consisting of acute candidiasis, chronic candidiasis, and angular cheilitis. Risk factors include impaired salivary gland function, drugs, dentures, high carbohydrate diet, and extremes of life, smoking, diabetes mellitus, Cushing’s syndrome, malignancies, and immunosuppressive conditions. Management involves taking a history, an examination, and appropriate antifungal treatment with a few requiring samples to be taken for laboratory analysis. In certain high risk groups antifungal prophylaxis reduces the incidence and severity of infections. The prognosis is good in the great majority of cases.

Background: Bacteriuria is considered a common bacterial infection in women particularly in postmenopausal women which consequently may warrant the need to treat the disease for prevention of bacteriuria developing complications.Aims and Objectives: This work was to investigate the prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria among menopausal women in Calabar, the incriminating bacterial pathogens and their antibiotic susceptibility pattern. Materials and Methods: Early morning mid stream urine samples from randomly selected 200 women (comprising of 50 premenopausal, 50 menopausal, 50 postmenopausal women and 50 apparently healthy young ladies of menstruating age (control subjects)) between the ages of 50 to 90 years were cultured by Leigh and Williams’s method. Questionnaires were also administered.Results: 24 (16%) of the test group while 3 (6%) of the control group had infection (p=0.008). Subjects aged 35-40 years had the highest prevalence of infection 6 (18.5%), while age group 66-70yrs had the lowest infection rate 0(0%)( P = 0.841). Post-menopausal women had the highest prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria 10(20%) while pre-menopausal and menopausal women had a lower prevalence rate of 7 (14%) each (p=0.0687). The most frequently isolated organism was Staphylococcus aureus (33%) and Ciprofloxacin was the most sensitive antibiotic observed.Conclusion: This work has revealed a high prevalence rate of asymptomatic bacteriuria high level of asymptomatic bacteriuria among menopausal women and the need for routine screening of this category of women for a standard healthy living.Asian Journal of Medical Sciences Vol.9(4) 2018 51-56

A 49 year old woman presented in June 1998 with left sided pleuritic chest pain, fever, night sweats, flitting arthralgia, and loss of appetite of three weeks' duration. She also complained of episodic numbness of her fingertips and later her toes and oral ulceration.She was known to have had asthma for the past 24 years and to have had four episodes of arthralgia involving large joints in the last year.On general examination, she was pyrexial (37.5°C) with evidence of digital vasculitis aVecting the left index and middle finger nails (see figs 1 and 2). She had oral ulceration. There was no rash or any evidence of inflammatory arthritis. Examination of the peripheral nervous system revealed reduced power of her right plantar flexion and inversion of right foot. There was diminished sensation over the sole of the right foot and sensory loss aVecting all fingertips.