<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> Lumbar intervertebral disc herniation is used to describe a spectrum of anatomical abnormalities involving disc extension beyond the interspace. It follows a tear in the annulus fibrosus of the intervertebral disc. It is one of the most common causes of low back pain among adults. The study aims to assess the epidemiological pattern of lumbar disc herniations among adults with low back pain in Enugu urban.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> The study was a prospective study at National Orthopedic Hospital Enugu and Annunciation Specialist Hospital Enugu. Following ethical approval and written informed consent, patients who met the inclusion criteria were consecutively recruited. The MRI scans of the participants were viewed using DICOM® (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) software on laptop computer. The data included the patients’ demographics, functional disability index for back pain, weight, height, the anatomical level(s) and site(s) of the herniated disc among other parameters.<strong></strong></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> A total of 81 subjects who met the inclusion criteria were included and analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. The mean age of the subjects is 52.99±13.13 years. The most common affected age group is 51-60 years (27.2%). Majority of the subjects (68; 84%) had multiple level herniations which usually includes L4 level(74; 91.4%).</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> That multilevel lumbar disc herniation is far more common than single level herniation with a prevalence of 84% among adults with low back pain in Enugu urban. That, there is statistically significant association of lumbar disc herniation and increasing age.</p>

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<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> A pneumatic tourniquet is a constricting or compressing device with an inflatable cuff used to control venous or arterial circulation to an extremity for a period of time. Tourniquet safety is related to the cuff pressure and duration of application. The objective of this study was to determine the common complications that follow the use of pneumatic tourniquet in elective orthopaedic surgical procedures at National Orthopaedic Hospital Enugu.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> This was a prospective study over 18 month period (June 2014 – November 2015) at National Orthopaedic Hospital, Enugu. Following ethical approval and written informed consent, patients who met the inclusion criteria were consecutively recruited. The study was conducted using the ‘intelligent pneumatic tourniquet’<strong><em> </em></strong>with single bladder reusable cylindrical cuff. The cuff pressure was determined in each case by addition of 100mmHg to the baseline systolic BP for the upper limbs and 150 mmHg to the baseline systolic BP for the lower limbs. The data collected included patients’ demographics, cuff pressure, cuff location, tourniquet duration and complication encountered among other parameters.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 160 procedures in 152 patients were included and analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. The prevalence rate of 1.9% for nerve palsy, 1.3% for tourniquet pain, 1.9% for surgical site infection and 5.6% for pressure sore were found in the study. No other complication was encountered.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> From the results of this study, it is concluded that the use of pneumatic tourniquet under the prescribed conditions is associated with low prevalence of complications.</p>

Extremity injuries have attained a significant position in musculoskeletal trauma. This study aims to describe the pattern of closed long bone diaphyseal fractures in acute trauma setting. A prospective study of patients who presented at the trauma unit of National Orthopaedic Hospital Enugu over a 6months period was undertaken. Sixty two patients with closed long bone diaphyseal fractures of femur, tibia and humerus who consented and met the study inclusion criteria were prospectively included and evaluated. Data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20. A total of 2880 patients presented during the period of study out of which, 62 (37 males and 25 females) presented with closed long bone diaphyseal fractures giving an incidence of 21.5/1000 trauma unit attendance (and occurring mostly in males 32.1/1000). The 21-30years age group distribution were the mostly affected (35.5%) with closed long bone diaphyseal fracture at presentation. Motor vehicular accident was the leading cause of closed long bone diaphyseal fractures (66.7%) followed by tricycle accident (19.4%) and assault (1.9%), the least. Transverse fractures (40.3%) were the most common fracture pattern followed by the comminuted fracture (27.4%), The anatomic location of fractures in diaphyseal long bones of the humerus, femur and tibia did not show any significant difference (p<0.05). With transverse and comminuted fracture being the commonest fracture patterns distribution and motor vehicular accidents the leading cause, these could be of a guide for orthopaedic surgeons to decide on the best interventional approach and to improve functional outcome.

Introduction. The goals of health care provision include that it be accessible, acceptable, affordable and adequate. Discharge against medical advice (DAMA) is a failure of proper health care provision as there is disagreement arising from dissatisfaction with provided health care. DAMA is common in our sub-region because of many reasons; these includes ignorance, financial constraint of the patient, beliefs in unorthodox care and patients feeling that they are well when their caregivers do not think so. Aim. The objectives of this study are to determine the incidence, method of documentation of DAMA in the case notes and patients reasons for DAMA in our tertiary health institution. The A&E of any hospital in our environment attracts public criticism when there is dissatisfaction with services and DAMA when not handled well can lead to justifiable criticisms and/or litigations. Material and methods. This is a retrospective study. It was carried out at the adult accident and emergency department of Enugu state university of technology teaching hospital Enugu. Duration of the study was from January 2017 to December 2018. Results. A total of 8,152 patients were seen in the accident and emergency during this period. One hundred and seventy one (171) case notes were retrieved and reviewed for the study, DAMA rate of 2.1% was obtained. Fifty one folders (29.8%) did not have reason for the DAMA documented in them. The commonest reason for the DAMA was to seek traditional medical care with frequency of 17.5%. This was closely followed by financial constraint with 15.8%. Documentation for DAMA was done directly in the case notes. Conclusion. The incidence of DAMA from this study is similar to what is obtainable from other local studies, financial constraint on the patients and seeking alternative medical treatment were the commonest reasons for DAMA in our sub-region. Also, the documentation for the DAMA in this study was poorly done.