Introduction: Hand hygiene causes a significant reduction in the carriage of potential pathogen in the hand. Inadequate hand hygiene facilities is one of the factors affecting compliance with hand hygiene by health care workers. The objective of the study was to evaluate the availability and accessibility of hand hand hygiene facilities and supplies of hand hygiene agents in the inpatient wards of a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. Methods and Materials: The study was conducted in a federal tertiary hospital in Nigeria. A modified survey checklist that assessed the condition of hand hygiene sink and other facilities was adapted and pretested. Direct observations of existing hand hygiene facilities in all the inpatient wards were carried out by one of the authors. Results: Of the 28 sinks, 22 (78.6%) were accessible but 13 (46.4%) had blocked drain. All the taps were hand operated with only 4 (14.3%) working. Majority of the sinks (67.9%) had no soap and no sink had antiseptic solution. Only 8 (28.6%) sinks had hand drying material which was a cloth towel. No sink had hand hygiene instructions displayed on or close to it. Conclusion: There is gross inadequacy of hand hygiene facilities in Ido-Ekiti, Nigeria. There is an urgent need for health managers to give priority to provision of hand hygiene facilities at all levels of health care delivery. Infection Control Unit should be established and strengthened in each facility for effective implementation of infection control policies. [TAF Prev Med Bull 2012; 11(5.000): 571-576

Background: Thyroid disorders are one of the most common endocrine disorders seen globally. Diagnostic challenge may arise both clinically and biochemically because of the multiple function of thyroid hormones (THs). Request for thyroid function test (TFT s) may be based on clinical impression that may suggest thyroid dysfunction or obvious symptoms and signs that are diagnostic of hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study looks at the biochemical patterns of TFTs and the clinical impression of thyroid disorders in a rural tertiary institution. Information extracted from the laboratory register includes indication for the test, the hospital number, the gender, the age, and the THs assayed. The corresponding biochemical pattern of the TFT result was established. Results: A total of 297 requests were submitted for TH assay; 34 were excluded from the present study because there were no clinical information. There were 239 females and 24 males giving a female-to-male ratio of 9.9:1. Majority of the requests (36.5%) were for goiters, followed by gynecological disorders (20.9%) and clinical thyroid disorders (17.9%). About 46% (45.8%) of the goiter cases were biochemically euthyroid, whereas 13.5% were biochemically primary hyperthyroid. Among the 47 cases of thyroid disorders by the physician’s clinical impression, 27.7% were euthyroid, 17% were biochemically hyperthyroid, and 10.6% were hypothyroid. Of the 55 gynecological disorders assessed, only 7.3% show biochemical evidence of TH alteration with 56.4% being euthyroid. About 47% (46.6%) of those that did routine medical examination had altered TH level that includes hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism. Conclusion: Goiter is the most prevalent thyroid disorder in this environment. Biochemical pattern of thyroid function test in our environment was mostly euthyroid despites clinical features suggestive of thyroid disorders.