Objective We determined the prevalence of poor glycemic control and associations with sociodemographics, comorbid conditions, and medication adherence among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) at a tertiary hospital in southwestern Nigeria. Methods We conducted a retrospective observational study among 300 patients with T2DM using systematic random sampling. We used a semi-structured questionnaire to collect information on respondents’ sociodemographic profile, lifestyle, comorbid conditions, and antidiabetic medications. Adherence was determined using the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale. Fasting blood samples were tested using a glycated hemoglobin marker. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with poor glycemic control. Results Respondents’ mean age was 61.9 ± 11.8 years. The prevalence of poor glycemic control was 40.0% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 34.4%–45.8%). The adjusted odds ratio (95% CI) for factors associated with poor glycemic control was 2.522 (1.402–4.647) for older age, 1.882 (1.021–3.467) for low income, 1.734 (1.013–3.401) for obesity, 2.014 (1.269–5.336) for non-initiation of insulin therapy, and 1.830 (1.045–3.206) for poor medication adherence. Conclusion Older age, lower income, obesity, non-initiation of insulin, and poor medication adherence were associated with poor glycemic control. These variables may help clinicians identify patients at high risk of poor glycemic control.

Background: Malaria is the commonest cause of anemia in pregnancy with severe consequence on the developing fetus. Recent clamor by the WHO for testing before treatment has driven a need to assess the effectiveness of available Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs). Objective: To determine the reliability of Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) for malaria among pregnant women booking in Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido-Ekiti, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study of 240 pregnant women were recruited at booking over a period of twenty weeks. A semi-structured questionnaire sought information about socio demographic data. Blood samples were taken for malaria and diagnosis was done using RDT and Microscopy. Results: Prevalence of malaria was 22.1% by microscopy and 27.5% by RDT. The sensitivity of RDT was 88.7% and specificity was 89.8%. The positive predictive value (PPV) of RDT was 71.2%, the Negative predictive value (NPV) of RDT was 96.6% and accuracy was 89.6%. The reliability of RDT was good (Kappa statistics = 0.731). The reliability of RDTs when compared with that of Microscopy was also good (Kappa statistics = 0.722). Conclusions: RDTs was an effective screening test for malaria among the respondents. Hence, primary care physician should utilize this resource by advocating for its availability.

Introduction: In low- and middle-income countries like Nigeria, there is an observed paucity of data on the admission pattern and patient outcomes in health facilities. Few related studies were conducted in the urban centers, but none from the rural areas where the majority of the populace resides. This study is to ascertain the demographic profile, seasonal variations, yearly distribution, admission pattern, and treatment outcomes at the accident and emergency department (AED). Materials and Methods: A retrospective survey was used to review the data of patients admitted to the AED of the institution between January 2015 and December 2019. The data obtained were analyzed using SPSS Version 20.0. The results were presented in descriptive and tabular formats. Results: Five thousand nine hundred and forty-four patients were studied with a mean age of 49.8 ± 19 years. There were 53.9% males and 46.1% females. Many (60.1%) were admitted from April to October. There were 58.9% medical and 41.1% surgical cases. Among the medical cases were 18.6% noncommunicable and 18.5% communicable diseases. Out of 5944 patients, 9435 disease patterns were diagnosed with infectious diseases 15.5%, and orthopedic 14.4% being the most frequently diagnosed medical and surgical cases, respectively. The treatment outcome revealed that the mortality rate was 3.7%. Conclusions: The number of admissions increased over 5 years. Although most patients were treated and discharged successfully, the number discharged against medical advice was high. Therefore, appropriate hospital and community interventions should be implemented to improve admission outcomes. The following core competencies are addressed in this article: Patient care and procedural skills, Medical knowledge, and Systems-based practice.

Background: The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the treatment of various ailments globally has called for more research. Aim: This study aimed to draw the attention of the stakeholders to the prevalence, pattern and awareness of CAM usage in otorhinolaryngological ailments and the need to safeguard the health of CAM users in Ekiti state, south – west Nigeria. Patients and Methods: This is a cross sectional descriptive study carried out over a 12-month period (January to December, 2019) among consented patients that attended ear, nose, and Throat (ENT) clinics in two tertiary health institutions in Ekiti state. All the participants are aged 18 years and above. A self-administered semi structured questionnaire was used to collect data from our respondents. Results: A total of 148 respondents were analyzed comprising of 56 (37.8%) males and 92 (62.2%) females given a male to female ratio of 1:1.6. Their age ranged from 20–79 years with a mean of 48.03 ± 15.11 SD. The highest response was in the age group 40–49 years representing 30.4% of the respondents. About half (51.4%) of our respondents were aware of the use of CAM for throat-related conditions. Few of the respondents (18.9%) are currently using CAM. About 33.1% of our respondents were satisfied with CAM. Only 4 (2.7%) of them experienced side effects to the use of CAM. For ear-related problems, Anointing/Olive (Olea europaea) oil was most commonly used in 34.5% of our respondents; Effinrin (Ocimum gratissimum), a local herb was commonly used in 29.7% for nose and local gin in 37.2% of our respondents for throat problems. Majority of them 44 (29.7%) got information about the various agents used through Vendors/traditional health practitioner. Conclusion: This study showed that the prevalent of CAM usage in ORL is quite low in our setting, which represent about one-fifth of the respondents. Although respondents claimed that the system was efficacious, awareness to its usage was very low and there was no evidence to prove that the diagnosis were known before using CAM. The use of Orthodox method in treating Otorhinolaryngological ailments is still the best. We therefore recommend empirical studies on CAM in future.

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