Background: Low back pain is a worrisome complaint amongst antenatal clinic attendees. Management of low back pain in pregnancy is multidisciplinary especially in chronic cases for patient’s satisfaction. Eighty five percent (85%) of women with low back pain in previous pregnancies will develop low back pain in the index pregnancy. Aim: To determine the prevalence of low back pain amongst antenatal clinic (ANC) attendees at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH) and offer management modalities. Method: The study was a cross sectional study, involving 200 antenatal clinic attendees, drawn from the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital. Information was coded and analysed using SPSS version 25. Results: The mean age was 31.1years; the modal parity was Para 0. Twenty one (20.5%) of the antenatal clinic attendees were housewives, civil servants were 67 (33%) and 79 (39%) were self- employed. For the educational status 144 (72%) had tertiary level, 48 (24%) had secondary level, 4 (2%) had primary level of education, while 4 (2%) of the respondents did not provide their educational status. The prevalence of low back pain was 87 (43.5%). Seventy nine (91.8%) had low back pain lasting less than 6 months while 8 (9.2%) had low back pain lasting greater than 6 months or in previous pregnancies. None of those antenatal mothers were referred to orthopaedic surgeons. Conclusion: The study revealed the prevalence of low back pain amongst ANC attendees at the RSUTH to be 43.5%. In addition, the study revealed that no patient with low back pain had orthopaedic referral. The optimum management for ANC attendees with low back pain is multi-disciplinary involving the obstetricians, the orthopaedic surgeons, physiotherapist, nurses and social workers.

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Background: Haemoglobin (Hb) genotype is not a routine test in adult pre-operative investigations in majority of clinical settings, though in the obstetric and gynaecological patients already have their Hb genotype as a part of the routine antenatal investigations. However, in paediatric work up for surgical procedures Hb genotype is a routine investigation. This is due to sickle cell endemicity in our locality. Aim: To determine the pattern of HB Genotype in surgical patients at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH). Method: This was a one-year retrospective study of surgical patients (Surgery and Obstetrics/Gynaecology departments) of the RSUTH. The patients comprised of all the consecutive cases of the surgeries in these departments for the period under review. Ethical clearance was obtained from ethical committee of the Rivers State Hospital Management Board. Structured profoma was used to extract information from patients’ case notes and analyzed using SPSS version 25. Result: There were a total of 370 subjects that were recruited for the study under review. There were 146 (39.5%) males and 224 (60.5%) females. The mean age was 31 years. The age range was 22 years to 56 years. One hundred and ninety four (52.4%) were obstetrics and gynaecological surgeries while 176 (47.6 %) were non-gynaecological surgeries. The commonest indication for surgery was caesarean representing 126 (34.1%) of the subject. The most common Hb genotype was AA 246 (66.5%)of which females contributed to 148 (40%) and males 98(26.5%)had Hb AA while 124 (33.5%)of the subjects were Hb AS. Females that were Hb As were 74 (20%) while males were 50 (13.5%). There were no subjects that were Hb SS. Conclusion: This study showed the most prevalent Hb Genotype as AA (66.5%) in surgical patients at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH), while 33.5% had Hb AS genotype. None of these subjects had sickle cell (HbSS) homozygous trait

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a glucose metabolic disorder with major complications ranging from tissue damage to issues with internal organs. Its prevalence keeps increasing at a very alarming rate and so does its major complication, foot ulcer, which constitutes to both economic burden and human suffering. Aims: The study aimed to establish the prevalence of diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) hospitalised adult patients in Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on all DFU patients admitted in the Medical ward at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Study variables included age and gender in. Data was processed for the 96 DFU patients. Result: A total of 96 DFU diabetic patients were studied with Male to Female ratio of about 1:2. Prevalence of diabetes was 7.8% with more cases in women (64.4%) than in men (35.6%). The prevalence of diabetic foot ulcer in relation to age was highest in the age group 60 years and above. Conclusion: Prevalence of DFU is high in this study. Establishing educational programmes to provide information to patients on peripheral neuropathy will help with poor glycaemic control and practice of foot care as well as provide a cost-effective way of preventing ulcers, amputations and even death.

Background: femoral shaft fractures are common orthopaedic problems and usually result from high energy impact with increased risk of associated injuries. Though global trend is moving towards early and effective fixation of fractures using options that cause minimal disruption of the soft tissue envelope around the fracture site, the practice in countries with weak health systems may vary from standard as predicted by available resources and skill. Aim: we present the outcome of surgical fixation of 108 femoral shaft fractures within a three year period. Method: Patients who meet inclusion criteria were recruited into the study after consent was obtained. Data was analyzed using SPSS 17 for windows and results were presented in frequency tables. Graphs and charts. Result: Femoral shaft fractures represents 3.8% of the total number of patients with orthopaedic conditions within study centre at the period of the study. The mean age was 31.2± 14.7 years with a M:F ratio of 2.1:1. There were more closed fractures (97; 89.2%) than open fractures (11, 10.8%) with transverse fractures being the most common fracture pattern (50.5%, n=46/108). Most fractures were treated by open reduction and locked intramedullary nailing (78/108, 72.5%) with bone union rates of 75% and 96% at 12weeks and 18 weeks post intervention respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in the union rate between the interlocking group and the plating group at both 12 weeks and 18 weeks post intervention (p=0.24). Bone infection, non-union and mal-union rates were 1.8% (n=2/108). Conclusion: femoral diaphyseal fractures can be effectively fixed with open locked IM nailing with optimal options are not available.