Background: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a disease of the respiratory system that is caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). It was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation on the 11th of March, 2020. Objective: To assess the reasons behind the low turnout of health workers (other than doctors) for COVID-19 vaccination in the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This study was carried out at the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa between 1st and 23rd April, 2021. It was a descriptive cross-sectional study. The study population consisted of 182 health workers (excluding doctors) from all departments/units in the hospital. The data were collected with a predesigned questionnaire, and were analysed using IBM SPSS 23.0 version. Results: About three-quarter were females (74.7%), and close to half were aged ≤35 years (47.8%). The respondents were Nurses, Pharmacists, Medical laboratory scientists, and Non-clinical officers. Only 27.4% took the vaccine. Most of those who refused the vaccine did so because they wanted to see what would happen to those who received the vaccine (70.5%). Others felt the vaccine has not gone through enough clinical trials (62.1%). Conclusion: In this study, there was very poor turnout of health workers for COVID-19 vaccination. The factors that influenced acceptance of the vaccine were mainly COVID-19 related features. These findings suggest that people who have had personal experiences with the disease have a better understanding of the gravity of the situation, and hence are more likely to accept vaccination against the disease.

Background: Caesarean section is the delivery of the foetus, placenta, and foetal membranes through an incision on the abdominal and uterine walls after the age of foetal viability. It is a life-saving surgical procedure, which has helped reduce maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality over the years. Objective: To determine the rates, indications, outcomes, and complications of Caesarean section at the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This research was carried out at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, South-South, Nigeria between 1st January 2018 and 31st December 2020. It was a retrospective study. Data was retrieved from the labour ward records, delivery register, theatre records, and patients’ folders during the period under review, and entered into a pre-designed proforma. Data were analysed with IBM SPSS version 23.0. Results were presented in frequencies and percentages for categorical variables and mean and standard deviation for continuous variables. Results: About 959 women had Caesarean section (CS) out of 2,263 deliveries, giving a Caesarean section rate of 42.4%. The commonest indication for emergency Caesarean section was cephalopelvic disproportion (36.0%), while that for elective Caesarean section was repeat Caesarean section (19.6%). Conclusion: The Caesarean section rate in our Centre is extremely high, almost three times the acceptable upper limit set by the WHO. Encouraging vaginal birth after Caesarean section as a means to reduce this high rate is recommended as it was noted that previous Caesarean section was a leading indication for surgeries.

Background: Cervical cancer is the most common gynaecological cancer in developing countries. The World Health Organisation estimated that there were about 570,000 new cases of cancer of the cervix in 2018 and about 311,000 women died of the disease. Objective: To determine the prevalence and characteristics of patients with cervical cancer at the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive study which involved all the patients with histologically confirmed cervical cancer managed at the gynaecological unit of the hospital from 1st January, 2016 to 31st December, 2020. Information was extracted from the gynaecological records and entered into a predesigned proforma. All available data were retrospectively analysed with SPSS version 23.0, and results were presented in tables and frequencies. Results: There were 31 cases of cervical cancers out of the 2,478 gynaecological cases seen. The prevalence of cervical cancer was 1.25%. About one-third of the women were in the sixth decade of life (32.3%). About half of the women were diagnosed at Stage 2 of the disease (51.6%) and squamous cell carcinoma accounted for 80.6% of the cancers. Radiotherapy was the most used treatment option (64.5%). About one-quarter died (25.8%). Conclusion: Most of the patients in this study presented in the advanced stages of the disease, with death of about one-quarter of them. Prevention and early presentation to the hospital are key in the prevention of poor quality of life and deaths. All hands must be on deck to tackle this disease.

<p>Child sexual abuse includes any sexual act between a minor and an adult, or between two minors, when one exerts power over the other. It involves forcing, coercing or persuading a child to engage in any type of sexual act. It also involves non-contact acts such as exhibitionism, exposure to pornography, voyeurism, and communicating in a sexual manner by phone or internet. An eight-year-old girl was rushed to the gynaecological emergency unit of the Federal medical centre, Yenagoa with complaints of a three-hour history of sudden onset vaginal bleeding following a fall astride in their house. There was no injury to the vulva and the child and her relatives denied any form of sexual abuse by anyone within or outside their home. She had examination under anaesthesia in theatre and a 3 cm laceration was identified at the proximal one-third of the left lateral wall of the vagina, covered with a blood clot; not bleeding actively. Repair was done and she was subsequently discharged home on the fourth post-operative day after counselling of mother and child. Child sexual abuse is common in our environment. Education and bonding with children, education of the public via outreaches, social media campaigns and other means possible, and improvement in the socio-economic situation of people will help reduce the incidence of child sexual abuse and encourage reporting and early disclosure where they occur.</p>