Background: Patient waiting time has been recognized as an important indicator for determining the quality of healthcare services offered by health facilities. Waiting time is strongly related to patients’ satisfaction with the care received at the hospital in general. Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out in February 2018 among new patients attending general out-patient department (GOPD) of randomly selected hospitals in South-Western Nigeria. A structured pre-tested questionnaire was used to elicit information from 223 patients who were recruited into the study using a convenience sampling method. Results: The average total clinic waiting time (TCWT) from entry to seeing a medical doctor was 137.02 ± 53.64 minutes. Only 6 (2.7%) met the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendation of having at least 90% of patients seen within 30 minutes of their scheduled appointment in contrast to 193 (86.5%) of respondents desiring to wait not more than 30 minutes for whatever reason before been attended to by the doctor. Although, the level of satisfaction was high (81.2%) in this study, patients who waited longer (>180 min) are more likely to be dissatisfied with services rendered in the OPDs (χ² = 20.104, df = 1, P = 0.001). Factors such as few health personnel (81/120) and having an insurance cover contributed significantly to the waiting time (χ² = 19.54, df = 1, P = 0.001). Conclusion: In a competitively managed health care environment, patient waiting time play an increasingly important role in a clinic’s ability to attract new business. Efforts therefore, should be made not only to reduce the patient waiting time, but health managers should invest in resources and activities that ensure a productive use of the time patients spend in the process of seeking healthcare services.
Background: Cystic meningioma is a rare variety with similar histological profiles like the solid tumors. It has been documented in both supratentorial and infratentorial compartments presenting radiologically as a large cyst with mural nodule mimicking hemangioblastoma. Case Description: We managed a middle-aged woman who presented with recurrent seizures and brain MRI revealed left frontal cystic parasagittal tumor with mural nodule. She had left frontal awake craniotomy and gross total tumor excision. Histology confirmed meningothelial meningioma. Conclusion: Cystic meningioma is rare but should be high in differentials of cystic intracranial tumor with dural based nodules. Awake craniotomy is possible for the excision of parasagittal tumor most especially when it is frontal in location.
Background: Syphilis is a highly contagious, systemic bacterial illness that poses a serious public health threat on a worldwide scale. In addition to being spread sexually, the illness can also be contracted through blood donation. To accurately evaluate the epidemiological pattern and community impact of the disease, this research sought to ascertain the seroprevalence of syphilis among pregnant women and potential blood donors. In Ekiti State, southwest Nigeria, a comparative study was conducted to determine the frequency of syphilis among expectant mothers and potential blood donors. Materials and Methods: For this comparison research, which was conducted over a 12-month span, 370 potential blood donors and 300 antenatal enrolees were both selected. After getting each participant's full permission, a questionnaire comprising socio-demographic data was given, and 5 ml of whole blood was drawn by venepuncture into an EDTA bottle. Within seconds, plasma was extracted into a clear receptacle using spinning at 2500g for 5 minutes. ELISA-based fast test tools from Diaspot and Lab Acon were used to find Treponema pallidum. Each sample's reactivity to the two test instruments was read as a positive result, while each sample's lack of reactivity was interpreted as a negative result. Results: Syphilis seroprevalence among expectant mothers was 2.0% and 0% among female blood donors. Male blood donors had a syphilis seroprevalence of 2.1%, which was comparable to the seroprevalence of 2.0% observed in expectant women. Conclusion: The screening of potential blood donors and pregnant women for syphilis must be required, available, and cheap as this will improve early detection of the disease for proper therapy. There is a significant correlation between syphilis infection and pregnancy and blood donors.
Background: Transfusion transmissible hepatitis (TTH) is a global health problem and the incriminating agents such as hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis E virus (HEV) continue to pose serious threats to blood safety. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of HBV, HCV and HEV and relate the outcomes with blood donation type, age and gender and confirm any significant associations. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and antibody to HCV were determined with Diaspot and Lab Acon immunochromatographic ELISA-based test devices. Antibodies to HEV were first determined with Biopanda lateral flow device followed by ELISA assay for sero-reactive HEV immunoglobulins M and immunoglobulin G (IgM and IgG) antibodies. Results: A total of 370 prospective blood donors between 18 and 55 years old (mean 31.2 ± 7.6 years) who presented for blood donation at FETHI Blood Bank were screened. Overall male: female ratio was 7:1. Cummulative hepatitis seroprevalence of 8.1% was found mainly among the replacement blood donors (RBD) and consist of 4.3%, 1.6%, 1.1%, 0.8% and 0.3% serologic evidence of HBsAg, anti-HCV, HEV IgM, both HEV IgM & HEV IgG, and HEV IgG antibodies. Blood donors aged 18 – 45 years were most affected with evident significant association between the age group of donors and TTH seroprevalence. Cummulative hepatitis seroprevalence was 0% among voluntary blood donors, and 9.1% and 0.3% among the male and female RBD respectively. There was significant association between the pathogens and RBD, though the association with male gender was clinically but not statistically significant. Conclusion: The high transfusion transmissible hepatitis seroprevalence among RBD called for promoting voluntary donations. Comparable prevalence of HEV antibodies with that of HCV called for its inclusion in the TTIs screening algorithm to ascertain optimal blood safety in Nigeria.
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