Background: The overall quality of care may be hampered by poorly written referrals. Referral letters should be detailed to elicit prompt response by the invited unit. This will enhance ideal management of cases that are referred. Aim: The aim of the study is to determine the quality (content and usefulness) of referral letters received from inpatient clinical wards of University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Ituku/Ozalla by hematology department of the hospital. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study of all referral letters received in hematology department of the hospital over a 1-year period (January to December, 2019) using a validated questionnaire. Results: A total of 231 referral letters were received and evaluated. The median age of the patients was 35 (range: 20–59) years with male-to-female ratio of 1:1.3. Initial statement identifying the reason for the referral was observed in 88.7% (n = 205). Majority (176/213, 82.5%) of the referrals did not include the results of investigations the patients did before the referral. Less than a quarter of the referrals (41/231, 19.3%) contained information on the treatment given to the patient. More than one-tenth (24/231), 11.3%) of the referrals were unhelpful while 13.6% (n = 29) were helpful. Conclusion: The referrals sent to the hematology department were deficient in quality. These deficiencies could be ameliorated by tutoring the younger doctors on the content of an ideal referral letter. Furthermore, a well-structured “referral form” with prompts for easy filling could be designed by hospitals as a guide to physicians for writing appropriate referral letter.

Background: Multiple myeloma (MM) is a very common hematological malignancy and constitutes about 10% of hematological malignancies. Laboratory investigations including haematological, biochemical, and molecular studies play an important role in the diagnosis, monitoring of response, and relapse in patients with MM. Objectives: The objectives of this article were to assess the initial clinical features, hematological profile, and biochemical parameters of newly diagnosed patients with MM. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study of MM patients seen from February 2010 to January 2020 at a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. A total of 51 patients’ case notes were retrieved from the Medical Records Department of the hospital. The socio-demographic data were collected using a Microsoft Excel Sheet. Data on age, sex, hematological parameters, presence of bone lesions (fractures, and osteolytic findings from radiographs), and biochemical parameters were extracted and analyzed. Results: The median age was 60.5 years, and the mean age was 59.6 ± 9.3 with a range of 35–89 years and a male-to-female ratio of 1.7:1. Only 1 (2.0%) patient was aged below 40 years, and the rest 50 (98.0%) were above 40 years of age. The 61–70 age group had the highest number of cases, 31 (60.8%). The mean hemoglobin, white cell count, and platelet count were 7.96 ± 2.2; 6.76 ± 0.6; and 213.50 ± 98 respectively. Serum protein was >80 g/L in 33 (64.7%) and <80 g/L in 18 (35.3%) patients. Two-thirds of the patients, 34 (66.7%) had albumin level <35 g/L. The mean albumin and globulin levels were 36.2 ± 10.9 and 59.2 ± 1.9 respectively, giving an albumin–globulin ratio (AGR) of 0.611. The mean calcium level was 2.6 ± 0.29 mmol/L. The overall mean urea and creatinine levels were 8.02 ± 3.2 (mmol/L) and 169.5 ± 89.4 (μmol/L), respectively. The most common clinical presentations were weakness, pallor, and bone pains with a proportion of 49 (96.1%), 47 (92.2%), and 45 (88.3%), respectively. Conclusion: The physicians should be alerted on the possibility of MM when an elderly patient presents with weakness and bone pains. The AGR is commonly low, connoting a poor prognosis.

Background: Vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC) is a feature of sickle cell disease (SCD), an inherited medical condition which is more common in Sub-Saharan Africa especially Nigeria and is saddled with multi-systemic complications. Knowledge and practice of preventive measures of VOC by patients may reduce the risk of morbidity and mortality. Aim: The purpose of this manuscript is to determine the knowledge, attitude, and practice of the various preventive measures of VOC by patients and their relationship with their frequency of painful crisis. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive survey was used. This study was conducted between August, 2018, and February, 2019. Participants were selected consecutively as they came for clinic consultations. Demographic characteristics and the knowledge, attitude, and practice of various preventive measures of VOC were obtained using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. The analysis was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software version 23.0. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used with P < 0.05 which was considered statistically significant. Ethical clearance and informed consent were obtained before the commencement of the study. Results: A total of 154 SCD patients participated in the study and were made up of 73 (47.4%) males and 81 (52.6%) females, with a male-to-female ratio of 1: 1.1. Majority of the respondents (76.6%) had good knowledge of preventive measures toward VOC in SCD. This study also found that 59 (38.3%) participants had good practice of preventive measures toward VOC while 95 (61.7%) had fair practice. Majority (68% [40/59]) of those who had good practice of preventive measures were less likely to have more than three crises in a year compared to those who do not practice good preventive measures, though not statistically significant (OR = 2.489, P = 0558) (confidence interval = 0.480 – 0.637). Conclusion: Majority of the patients have good knowledge and practice of preventive measures of VOC and this appears to have reduced the frequency of their crisis in a year. Health education for sickle cell patients is an important tool that may reduce morbidity and mortality by reducing the frequency of crisis.