Background: Self ear cleaning with cotton buds and other objects is a common practice. Objective: To determine the sociodemographic characteristics and the prevalence of self ear cleaning habit among patients attending a family medicine clinic in a teaching hospital in Sokoto metropolis. Materials and Methods: This was a 4 weeks prospective study carried out between May and June, 2013 at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital and Specialist Hospital Sokoto. A structured self response questionnaire containing items on sociodemographic characteristics, frequency of administering objects into the ear and complications of self ear cleaning was administered to the respondents after institutional research ethical clearance. The data were analysed using SPSS for windows version 16.0. P-value was considered significantly if less than 0.05. Results: A total of 200 subjects were included in this study, comprising of 93 (46.5%) males and 107 (53.5%) females. Their ages ranged from 18-57 years with the mean age being 30.29 years (±8.70). Eighty percent (160) of the respondents practise self ear cleaning. Types of objects included writing objects and cotton buds. For many of the subjects, the frequency of insertion was once daily and both ears were frequently cleaned. Complications that have arisen due to the practice included otitis externa. Conclusion: Self ear cleaning was prevalent in the subjects. Considering the complications that may arise, ear cleaning is better done by trained health personnel.

Background. Postpartum psychosis is the most severe and uncommon form of postnatal affective illness. It constitutes a medical emergency. Acute management emphasizes hospitalization to ensure safety, antipsychotic medication adherence, and treatment of the underlying disorder. Objective. The aim of the study was to determine the obstetric characteristics and management of patients with postpartum psychosis in a tertiary centre in North-Western Nigeria. Methodology. This was a 10-year retrospective study. Records of the patients diagnosed with postpartum psychosis from January 1st, 2002, to December 31st, 2011, were retrieved and relevant data extracted and analyzed using the SPSS for Windows version 16.0. Results. There were 29 cases of postpartum psychosis giving an incidence of 1.1 per 1000 deliveries. The mean age of the patients was 20.6 ± 4 years. Twelve (55%) were primiparae, 16 (72.7%) were unbooked, and 13 (59%) delivered at home. All had vaginal deliveries at term. There were 12 (52.2%) live births, and 11 (47.8%) perinatal deaths and the fetal sex ratio was equal. The most common presentation was talking irrationally. Conclusion. There is need for risk factor evaluation for puerperal psychosis during the antenatal period especially in primigravidae and more advocacies to encourage women to book for antenatal care in our environment.

In addition to reconstructive surgery, psychiatric evaluation and intervention would be of benefit in the management of cleft lip patients.

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Background: Previous studies among people living with HIV infection suggested that prevalence of psychiatric morbidity was high. In addition, among non-HIV infected patients, ethnic density influence the prevalence. The present study was aimed to determine the prevalence and effects of ethnic density on psychiatric morbidity among these patients in Sokoto, Nigeria. Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study was conducted among patients who had been diagnosed with HIV infection in a teaching hospital in Sokoto. Questionnaire relating to sociodemographic variables and psychiatric morbidity were administered to the patients. Data obtained were analyzed using SPSS version 16.0 while test for significance was set at P < 0.05. Result: The mean age of the patient was 32 ± 9 years (range = 12 -63), male being older than the female. Of the patients, 71% were married while and about two third were of Islamic religion. Twenty seven percent had no formal education and were mainly Hausa/Fulani ethnicity. Seven percent of the patients had definite depression while 8% had definite anxiety. When the subjects were dichotomized to Hausa/Fulani and others, they were similar with regard to age and gender (χ 2 = 4.43; P = 0.49 and χ 2 = 0.22; P = 0.64 respectively). Across the ethnicity (Hausa/Fulani and others), the subjects differ significantly with regard to religion (χ 2 = 0.68; P = 0.00), marital status (χ 2 = 15.05; P = 0.00), education (χ 2 = 30.56; P = 0.00) and employment status (χ 2 = 9.81; P = 0.01). The Hausa/Fulani ethnic group had less psychiatric morbidity. In addition, marital status had significant pathoplastic effect on depression across ethnicity (χ 2 = 0.42; P = 0.02). Conclusion: Ethnic density was associated with decrease prevalence of common mental disorder among patients with HIV infection. Environmental manipulation may play a role in the management of this patient.