Tuberculosis remains one of the major health problems in many tropical countries. An estimated eight to ten million people develop overt tuberculosis annually worldwide as a result of primary infection, endogenous reactivation or exogenous re-infection. About half of all patients with TB do not complete treatment and this contributes to prolonged infectiousness, drug resistance, relapse and death. This study is aimed at assessing the adherence of TB patients to anti-TB medications as well as the factors influencing drug adherence in a tertiary health care institution in South-Eastern Nigeria. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 217 TB patients in Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi. Information was obtained using a self-administered and interviewer administered semi-structured questionnaire. The mean age of the respondents is 36.1 ± 13.3 years. More of the respondents were females (58.1%), while 41.9% were males. It was observed that 74.2% had never failed to take their anti-TB drugs while 24.2% agreed they had failed to take their drugs. The major reasons for failure to take drugs were no money for transport to collect new drugs and forgetfulness by 32.7% of the respondents respectively. The factors which influenced drug adherence were educational qualification, average monthly income, illhealth as a financial burden and receiving HIV drugs (P < 0.05). Adherence towards anti-TB medications is good. However, efforts need to be intensified to educate and encourage TB patients to adhere strictly to their drugs as this will be of great value to them and the community at large.

The prevalence of stigma and discrimination in workplaces is high. Efforts should be made by agencies to reduce such social problems in the workplace since they can affect overall management and productivity.

Objectives: Routine dipstick urinalysis is a useful and inexpensive method for the early detection of asymptomatic diseases. Our study was carried out to detect the prevalence of urinary abnormalities among an apparently asymptomatic healthy female group and emphasize the value of routine dipstick urinalysis. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among second to sixth (final)-year female medical students of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nnewi campus between 8 and 30 September 2019. A total of 100 subjects were enrolled. First-morning midstream urine samples were collected and promptly tested with dipstick strips. Subjects with abnormal findings were informed and treated appropriately. Results: In all, 54 (54%) of the subjects had urine abnormalities. Trace proteinuria was the commonest abnormality seen with a prevalence of 33%, followed by abnormal urine appearance (17%), leucocytes (14%), nitrites (8%) and urobilinogen (2%). Urine abnormalities were commoner in students who resided in the school hostel. Abnormal urine appearance was significantly associated with nitrites (0.003) and leucocytes (0.001). Conclusion: Routine dipstick urinalysis should be performed among students and apparently healthy individuals for early detection and diagnosis of renal diseases to facilitate quick interventions and prevent further progression.

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