Aims: The purpose of this study was to clinically evaluate the efficacy of Alloderm^® with the coronally positioned flap in the treatment of multiple gingival recessions and to assess the esthetic and hypersensitivity evaluation from patient's perspective using visual analog scale (VAS). Subjects and Methods: A total of 10 systemically healthy male and female patients aged 18–50 years with Miller's class I and class II gingival recessions, who had dentin hypersensitivity and esthetic concern were selected for the study. Root coverage (RC) was done using coronally advanced flap with Alloderm^®. Statistical Analysis: Descriptive statistical analysis was performed in the present study. Significance was assessed at 5% level of significance. Student's t-test was conducted to find the pairwise significance of the study parameters. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to find the significance of percentage of linear RC and percentage of volumetric RC (% of VRC) between 3 and 6 months. Results: A total 31 defects were treated with mean volumetric percentage RC (%RC) at 3 months of 35.21%. This remained the same at 6 months (P = 1.000). There was no statistically significant difference in the volumetric and Linear percentage of root coverage. Dentine hypersensitivity and esthetics were evaluated from patient's perspective using VAS ranging from a score of 0–10. Where 0 indicates very low and score of 10 indicates very high score. VAS indicated a decrease in the sensitivity after treatment. VAS mean score before treatment was 6.22 ± 0.83 with a mean score of 3.90, standard deviation (SD) of ± 1.37 after treatment and mean score of 5.10, SD of ± 0.57 for esthetic evaluation. Conclusions: The use of Alloderm^® with coronally positioned flap provided a significant improvement in all the clinical parameters, but did not result in favorable outcome in terms of root coverage of facial gingival recessions of multiple adjacent teeth.

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is an increasingly important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Combination of risk factors for CVD can be seen in the metabolic syndrome (MS), which can be computed to get an assessment of an individual's risk for future cardiovascular events. Aims: We aimed to determine the Framingham risk assessment of MS patients at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of newly diagnosed patients with MS using the International Diabetes Federation criteria. Anthropometry and clinical data were obtained, and fasting blood glucose and lipid concentrations were also determined. Framingham risk assessment was calculated and categorized as <10%: low risk, 10–20%: intermediate risk, and >20%: high risk for future CVD. Results: There were 120 patients (females 82, males 38) with mean ages of 52 ± 13.5 years and 54 ± 14.2 years, respectively (P = 0.46). Framingham risk assessment showed 56 (47%) patients comprising of 42 females and 14 males had low risk; 31 (26%) patients comprising of 24 females and 7 males had intermediate risk while 32 (27%) patients comprising of 16 females and 16 males had high risk for CVD. The risk assessment significantly correlated with age, systolic blood pressure, and total and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Majority of the males had high 10-year risk for CVD while most of the females had low risk. Men may need to intensify strategies to reduce modifiable risk factors for CVD.

Background: Low- birthweight (LBW) is the single most powerful predictor of mortality in the first few months of life, especially in most developing countries. The physiologic hypercholesterolemia of later pregnancy suggests an adaptive function for pregnancy maintenance or fetal growth. Decreased levels of maternal total cholesterol have been reported in association with intrauterine growth restriction. Aim: The aim of this study is to assess the association between low maternal serum cholesterol during early pregnancy and LBW in term neonates. Patients and Methods: This was a prospective cohort study in which eligible participants were enrolled at the gestational age of 14–20 weeks over a period of 12 months. Blood samples were taken to measure the total serum cholesterol concentrations, and the sera were then analyzed enzymatically by the cholesterol oxidase: p-aminophenazone method. Association between low maternal serum cholesterol and LBW was tested by using Chi-square. All significances are reported at P < 0.05. Results: The present study showed an incidence of 13.4% for delivery of LBW babies in the low-risk study patients. LBW was 2.05 times more common with low total maternal cholesterol than with normal midrange maternal cholesterol levels (21.1% vs. 10.3%, P = 0.039). Conclusion: We can infer from the study that the low maternal serum cholesterol is associated with LBW in term neonates. We can, therefore, recommend that the concept of an optimal range for maternal serum cholesterol during pregnancy may have merit and pregnant women should be encouraged to follow a healthy, balanced diet, and ensure regular antenatal visit to their health-care provider.

Background: An adverse drug event (ADE) is defined as any injury, including physical harm, mental harm, or loss of function due to medication. Little is known about ADEs in ambulatory care settings. Self-medication by definition is the practice of taking medicines by individuals to treat self-recognized symptoms or illness. Aim: The objective of this study was to find out the prevalence of ADEs that occurred as a result of self-medication among ambulatory care patients in our center. Methodology: A cross-sectional study where a paper-based, pretested, semi-structured interviewer administered questionnaire was used to gather information from 398 adult patients attending the general outpatient clinic of a tertiary hospital. Data analysis was performed using Epi Info 7 and all statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: The study had 398 respondents of which 161 (40.45%) and 237 (59.55%) were males and females, respectively. Mean age and the standard deviation was 37.17 ± 14.91. The frequency of self-medication was 375 (89.7%) and the frequency of those who have had at least one episode of ADE following self-medication was 88 (22.11%). Females, (207) significantly practiced self-medication than males (150), Z = 4.19, confidence interval (8.45, 23.49), P = 0.00002. ADE following self-medication occurred more in females (50) than in males, (38) and was not associated with self-medication. The majority of the symptoms reported were itching (47.73%), blurring of vision (14.77%), and abdominal pain. Conclusion: ADEs happen following self-medication among ambulatory patients, especially in women and among the married.

Background: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a common disease in otorhinolaryngologic practice. Traditionally, the standard criterion for isolation of pathogens in CRS is the nonendoscopic maxillary sinus puncture through invasive procedures with well-documented hazards. Objectives: To evaluate the pathogens associated with CRS in patients with CRS from endoscopically guided middle meatal swab. Methodology: A prospective cross-sectional study in which endoscopically guided middle meatal swab was aseptically taken from patients with diagnostic criteria of CRS and healthy volunteers. The samples were sent to the laboratory for qualitative and semi-quantitative analysis. Data collected were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 16 (SPSS Inc., 233 South Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois, USA). Results: A total of 110 microbial isolates were recovered from 82 (63.08%) of the 130 patients with CRS while 46 recorded among 54 (51.92%) of the 104 healthy volunteers. There were 74 (56.92%) bacterial growth out of which 55 (74.32%) were aerobic and 19 (25.68%) anaerobic isolates among the test participants with fungal growth seen in 36 (27.7%) of them while about 18% yielded a mixed growth of aerobic, anaerobic, and/or fungal isolates. Among the control group, however, the 54 people with positive isolates had 21 fungal and 25 aerobic bacteria. Conclusion: Mixed growth of aerobes, anaerobes, and fungal isolates was observed in patients with CRS. Endoscopically guided middle meatal swab is a safe and practical means for collecting samples for microbial culture.

Background: The value of good oral hygiene practices has increased over the years, and the removal of bacteria plaque and other deposits from the teeth is essential for the prevention of dental caries and periodontal disease. Aims: The objectives of this study were to assess the oral hygiene status of the elderly population in Port Harcourt, Rivers State and investigate the influence of sociodemographic variables on oral hygiene. Subjects and Methods: The research was cross-sectional study. A total of 543 old people were selected by systematic random sampling. Data were collected with a self-developed oral health assessment questionnaire designed in two sections (A and B) and analyzed using SPSS version 20 (IBM SPSS Armonk, New York, USA). The relationship between variables was established using independent t-test and analysis of variance, and significance determined at 0.05 alpha level. Results: The overall mean oral hygiene score for the sample was 2.55 (standard deviation = 0.85). Most of the respondents had poor 245 (45.1%) and fair 254 (46.8%) oral hygiene. Females had significant better oral hygiene than males, while there was a significant increase in the oral hygiene score with increasing age. Educational status and retirement grade level were inversely and significantly associated with the oral hygiene score of the pensioners. Conclusion: The oral hygiene score recorded among the pensioners in this study was inadequate; therefore, the study participants need to be educated on the role of plaque in the development of dental caries and periodontal diseases, and the need to keep good oral hygiene.

Traumatic ulcerative granuloma with stromal eosinophilia (TUGSE) is an ulcerative condition of the oral mucosa with a chronic course and delayed healing. It is a reactive lesion that commonly affects the tongue. TUGSE is a relatively uncommon mucosal lesion that presents as an ulcer or an indurated submucosal mass and may cause diagnostic dilemma for the dental surgeon as it mimics a traumatic or neoplastic ulcer the pathogenesis of this lesion is obscure; however, chronic irritation from traumatic agents is considered to be a major initiating factor. The lesion is also known to undergo resolution following incisional biopsy. Histopathologically, it is characterized by eosinophilic inflammatory infiltrate penetrating into the underlying muscle. It is important to recognize this mucosal lesion as it mimics malignant ulcers and other ulcerative conditions of the oral cavity; however, the condition tends to resolve on its own. The lesion is also known to undergo resolution following incisional biopsy. Immunohistochemical positivity to CD30 found in nonneoplastic cutaneous conditions rich in neutrophils and eosinophils suggest CD30 cells as components of a reactive process. This is a review and report of a 37-year-old Nigerian woman who with an ulceroproliferative growth in the left side of the mouth. The aim of this article is to describe the presentation of TUGSE so as to enhance prompt diagnosis and rule lesions such as traumatic ulcer or squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue that may present in a similar way.

This is report of a rare case of thymic hyperplasia in a 6-month-old female child with significant compression effect on the airways and shift of the mediastinum. Timely imaging study and tissue biopsy play an important role in identifying cause of anterior mediastinal mass in this age group.

We report a case of depressed skull fracture in an hour old newborn delivered by cesarean section for breech presentation. The depression was surgically corrected as a spontaneous resolution did not occur after some interval. Surgical correction of depressed skull fracture may be indicated depending on the depth of depression and thickness of the bone at involved part of the skull.

Penetrating abdominal injuries in children usually result from accident or nonintentional means. They are not as common as in adults. Impalement abdominal injuries in children are very rare and have been scarcely reported in the literature. An impalement abdominal injury with a pencil in a child is an unusual event which requires reporting. This case report is on a 6-year-old boy who sustained an impalement abdominal injury with a pencil, he was rushed to the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu with the impaled object (pencil) in situ. He was admitted to the children emergency room of the hospital, stabilized and had exploratory laparotomy and removal of the impaled object under direct vision.

Abrasion is the physical wearing of a tooth surface which can involve the presence of a foreign object repeatedly being in contact with the tooth. A 58-year-old male patient patient visited the dental clinic with discolored teeth. A detailed history revealed that the patient used mishiri mixed with powdered rock salt to brush his teeth daily which had severely abraded his teeth. Conditions such as abrasion may need active restorations. A general dental practitioner should be able to accurately identify the cause and treat the aesthetic and functional impairment as required.

We present a case of abdominal cervical cerclage with live birth. She was a 40-year-old woman with a history of recurrent second-trimester pregnancy losses and preterm deliveries. A cervicoisthmic cerclage was applied through the abdominal route at 16 weeks of gestation and the pregnancy progressed to 35 weeks and 4 days when she developed preterm contractions necessitating an emergency cesarean delivery of a set of healthy twins. Only few centers in Nigeria offer abdominal cerclage because of paucity in skills. This case is presented as a reminder that such cases still exist, and the skill must be maintained and taught resident doctors as it may become useful when such cases present.