Caesarean delivery of first prediagnosed COVID-19 pregnancy in Nigeria.

The COVID-19 pandemic is currently causing widespread infection and deaths around the world. Since the identification of the first case in Nigeria in February 2020, the number of confirmed cases has risen to over 9,800. Although pregnant women are not necessarily more susceptible to infection by the virus, changes to their immune system in pregnancy may be associated with more severe symptoms. Adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes have been reported among pregnant women with COVID-19 infection. However, literature is scarce on the peripartum management and pregnancy outcome of a pregnant woman with COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa. We report the first successful and uncomplicated caesarean delivery of a pregnant woman with COVID-19 infection in Nigeria.

Use of the World Health Organization Surgical Safety Checklist by Nigerian anesthetists.

BACKGROUND: Surgery and anesthesia are essential parts of global healthcare. Surgical intervention has been largely beneficial but remains associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The increasing complexity of surgical interventions has made providers more prone to avoidable errors. The World Health Organization Surgical Safety Checklist (WHO SSC) was disseminated worldwide with the aim of reducing perioperative morbidity and mortality. OBJECTIVE: There is a paucity of data to assess awareness and use of WHO SSC in low- and middle-income countries. The aim of this study is to evaluate the knowledge and use of WHO SSC by Nigerian anesthetists. METHODOLOGY: A structured self-reporting questionnaire was distributed to Nigerian physician anesthetists. One hundred and twenty-two questionnaires were distributed with 102 completed reflecting a response rate of 83.6%. RESULTS: Awareness of the WHO SSC was reported by 93.1% of the respondents. Routine use of the checklist was reported by 62.7% of the respondents mostly in the teaching hospitals compared with the general hospitals and comprehensive health centers (86.2%, 23.3% and 14.3%, P = 0.0001). The respondents who had a perception that WHO SSC does not prevent errors were the least likely to use it (odds ratio: 0.08, P = 0.0117). CONCLUSION: This study identified a high level of awareness and use of the WHO SSC by physician anesthetists in Nigeria. However, its use is mostly use of The WHO SSC list by Nigerian anesthetists in teaching hospitals.

Central corneal thickness changes following manual small incision cataract surgery.

AIM: To determine changes in post-cataract surgery central corneal thickness (CCT) at Lagos University Teaching Hospital by assessing the time it takes for the cornea to return to its preoperative thickness value. METHODS: This study is a prospective, hospital-based open within-patient controlled study with the unoperated eye controlling for the operated one. RESULTS: Two hundred patients with 400 eyes were analyzed, with bilateral mature cataract in 47.0%. All the patients had manual small incision cataract surgery with posterior chamber intraocular lens implant. There is an increase in mean baseline CCT from 520.6±20.3 µm by 76.9 µm (597.9±30.4 µm) 24 hours after cataract surgery followed by relative reduction in the mean CCT to 555.2±24.7 µm and 525.1±19.7 µm at 2 weeks and 12 weeks, respectively. Increase in mean CCT in the unoperated and contralateral eyes were recorded in this study. CONCLUSION: There was a transient increase in corneal thickness following cataract surgery with subsequent decrease to preoperative thickness by 12th and fourth week in the operated and unoperated eyes, respectively. Corneal manipulations during cataract surgery must be minimal to reduce visual rehabilitation time to barest minimum. Postoperative refraction will be better at eighth week to 12th week considering the time it takes for the CCT to return to its stable preoperative values.

Intracranial epidural abscess of odontogenic origin.

Dental infection as a cause of epidural abscess is rare compared with other forms of intracranial suppurations. A 10-year-old boy was seen because of headaches and fever. There was no history of otitis media or sinusitis, but he had sought care for dental complaints. The patient was from an upper-middle-class family, was not immunocompromised, and had no other risk factor for a major infection. A CT brain scan confirmed a frontal epidural abscess. The patient underwent emergency surgery for evacuation of the epidural abscess, followed by antimicrobial therapy. His condition improved remarkably following surgery, with complete resolution of symptoms. He subsequently underwent extraction of 2 teeth following dental review. Dental infection as a cause of intracranial epidural abscess is rare, but should be considered when evaluating patients for intracranial infections. A review of the literature sheds light on the causal relationship and possible pathogenesis of this condition.