RESUMEN
Aim: There is a dearth of knowledge on the burden of family caregivers of patients with maxillofacial tumours in Nigeria. This burden may be influenced by racial peculiarities and the disease entity of the patient. The aim of this study is to assess and document the burdens and predictors of burdens experienced by family caregivers of patients with oral maxillofacial tumours presenting at a tertiary health facility in South Western Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study that included 110 consenting family caregivers of patients diagnosed with oral and maxillofacial tumours. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect information on their sociodemographic characteristics and caregiving burden using the Zarit burden interview tool. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics with Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 21.0. Result: The most frequent group of caregivers was patients' children (32.0%), aged 30-39 years (28.2%), females (54.5%), with secondary education (41.8%), and traders (38.2%), who earned less than national minimum wage (55.5%). Majority (42.7%) experienced mild-to-moderate burden; coping strategy was mainly prayers (76.4%), while the greatest need expressed was financial assistance (93.6%). The significant predictors of caregiver burden were the presence of pain (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.961; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.165-7.526; P = 0.023) and severe clinical condition (AOR = 3.342; 95% CI = 1.133-9.853; P = 0.029). Conclusion: The most common category of the burden of family caregivers of patients with maxillofacial tumours was the mild-to-moderate category, and the most significant predictors were the presence of pain and severity of clinical condition. The greatest need expressed was financial assistance. Therefore, an emphasis on adequate pain control and alternate sources of funding may appreciably relieve the burden of family caregivers of patients with maxillofacial tumours.
RESUMEN
AIM: The aim of this study was to assess the relative contributions of patient characteristics and radiographic variables to the difficulty of extraction of impacted mandibular third molars in a Nigerian population. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Seventy-nine consecutive patients undergoing mandibular third molar extractions were recruited for this prospective cohort study. Specific patient characteristics and radiographic variables were recorded. All extractions were performed under local anesthesia by the same oral surgeon, and the surgical difficulty was assessed based on the duration of surgery. RESULTS: Body weight (BW) (P=0.009) and body surface area (BSA) (P=0.004) were the significant patient characteristics while tooth impaction depth (P=0.002), number of roots (P=0.035), and tooth angulation (P=0.003) were the significant radiographic variables associated with surgical difficulty using a univariate analysis. A multiple linear regression model was constructed with these variables using surgical difficulty as the dependent variable. Radiographic factors were found to be the more important determinants of surgical difficulty with the depth of impaction (P=0.038) being the singular most important factor. CONCLUSION: Although the difficulty of surgical removal of impacted lower third molars is dependent on BW, BSA, impaction depth, tooth angulation, and the number of roots, radiographic variables were of greater importance with impaction depth being the most important single factor.