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Tag: LUTH

  • Experts caution against excessive use of antibiotics

    The non-prescriptive or excessive use of antibiotics and not completing the prescribed dosage are harmful, health experts have said.

    The experts including a Consultant Clinical Microbiologist, Dr Rita Oladele, Senior Registrars, Dr Ochan Ernest and Dr Abdul-Wahab Ettu, of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), said Nigeria is gradually returning to the pre antibiotic era, when any infection means death.They noted that the development is not limited to Nigeria alone, but cuts across the world.

    They said not following the required duration for antibiotics, taking antibiotics not meant for an illness and the general abuse of drugs will lead to anti-microbial resistance. This means pathogenic micro organisms invading the body will no longer respond to first-time antibiotics thus ‘once you are diagnosed with an infection it may lead to death’.

    The doctors said there was no need to have a prescription for antibiotics in Nigeria since its availability is uncontrolled and can be bought by anybody.

    “Dangers lie in taking antibiotics not prescribed by the right person, because you are not sure if the prescription is the right antibiotic for your illness, and if the right dosage is prescribed,” the doctors said.

    All these factors push forward to anti microbial resistance, they said.

    Anti microbial resistance means the micro organisms in the body can survive despite the presence of the right concentration of anti microbial. Anti microbial are either synthetic or natural substance that prevent the growth of micro organisms. When these micro organisms become resistant to anti microbial, death eventually occurs, the doctors said.

    Dr Ettu said; “when you have an infection, example, a respiratory tract infection, characterised by cough, and you use an antibiotics for it with prescription from a medical doctor, the cough may stop after a day or two of use of the drug, but you are still required to complete your dosage. This will allow for complete cure of infection , and prevent antimicrobial resistance, as oppose to stoping the drug by the second day, and then the residual organisms mutate and acquire resistance to that antibiotic and many other antibiotics.”

    They said everybody has a part to play if anti microbial resistance will not come to reality in the world.

    For Nigeria, they said the National Agency for Food, Drugs and Administration Control (NAFDAC) needs to test the quality of drugs and ensure it contains the accurate milligram before it enters the market.

    Manufacturers should monitor the movement of drugs down to the final consumer.

    Pharmacists are to sell antibiotics with prescriptions and they must be qualified to sell it.

    Doctors should not prescribe antibiotics for un-diagnosed conditions.

    Government needs to enforce the law in this country on antibiotics distribution.

    Dr Ernest said there is the need for people to be more educated on the use of antibiotics of which the doctors are not left out.

    He added that farmers also need to be educated on the use of antibiotics on animal products, because micro organisms in animals are also prone to antimicrobial resistance and can be transmitted to humans.

    The medical experts said legislation should be enforced to control antibiotics, we should start practising antibiotic holiday, so we can streamline the use of antibiotics. We should agree on the antibiotics to be used while the rest go on holiday. This will make the organisms to have memory loss. With that memory loss, we can start using those antibiotics we have sent on holiday again.

    “In the next five to 10 years, we are going to have low sensitivity to antibiotics in a lot of organisms,” Ernest said.

    What antimicrobial resistance will lead to is that people may die of an infection which should have being treated, the doctors said.

  • Firm partners with doctors

    Graduating medical and dental doctors from Nigerian universities will receive basic practice tools free from May & Baker Nigeria Plc.

    This, the company said, would enable them start off smoothly in their profession.

    This was through a partnership between the premier pharmaceutical manufacturing company and leading Nigerian Colleges of Medicine

    The project, which is designed to run in 11 Colleges of Medicine this year, kicked off with the graduating medical and dental doctors of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

    It said 150 graduating doctors of LUTH received their first stethoscopes and ward coats from the company.

    In addition, the best graduating students of medicine and dentistry also received cash prizes and plaques from the company as a form of encouragement for academic excellence among these group of professionals.

    Head, Pharmaceutical Sales and Marketing Division of the company, Mr Chukuka Chukutem, who represented the company’s managing director, said the project is a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) undertakien by M&B.

    He said the idea is to support the students with the basic take-off tools to give them a good start.

    He said the company intends to run this project in phases. Phase one comprises of 11 Colleges of Medicine with the Lagos University Teaching Hospital as the pilot roll out. Other institutions in the first phase include Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Awka, University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Usman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto and University of Jos Teaching Hospital. Others are University of Ibadan, Obafemi Awolowo University and the University of Benin.

  • Nollywood actor Lugard Onoyemu dead

    Nollywood actor Lugard Onoyemu dead

    While the industry is yet to come to terms with the death of hip hop artiste, Goldie, another tragedy struck on Friday, February 15 as Nollywood actor, Lugard Onoyemu was reported dead.

    Onoyemu, who was the pioneer Secretary of Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Lagos chapter reportedly slumped and died during football training at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

    Confirming his death, the State Chairman of the Guild, Emeka Rising Ibe, said the deceased who had been battling a heart related ailment, was immediately rushed to the hospital but did not make it.

    Onoyemu’s body has been deposited at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

  • LUTH to train doctors

    The Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) is introducing a skill-improving training programme for doctors.

    This would enable the resident doctors to acquire skills that would be beneficial to patients, Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Prof Akin Osibogun. He said the hospital would introduce a new programme to improve training of resident doctors.

    Osibogun told The Nation that the new programme would enable the resident doctors to acquire skills that would be beneficial to the patients.

    He said the hospital has started acquiring state-of-the-art equipment and has also succeeded in building a sophisticated surgical centre that will facilitate training of health workers in the hospital. ·

    “By starting new programmes, by improving on our infrastructure and the facilities and by acquiring equipment, it means that new procedures and more procedures can be carried out in the hospital.

    “And, as you carry out more procedures and new procedures, then you are improving on training opportunities, because we cannot train residents, if we do not have many procedures being carried out.

    “We have also acquired other equipment, such as the laparoscopic equipment for pinhole surgery or minimally invasive surgery.

    “The equipment is on ground, the facilities are on ground, and so, the training of residents is going to rapidly improve.

    “We also developed one of the most sophisticated surgical skill centres in the country.

    “That surgical skill centre is ready. It has laparoscopic towers for training of residents and other health workers. So, this year, we are going full blast in terms of service provision as well as training of resident doctors and other health workers to ensure that we continue to facilitate the transfer of skills.”

  • Osibogun seeks improved fertility

    The Chief Medical Director of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Professor Akin Osibogun, has called on the private sector to partner with the hospital in the establishment of fertility health programmes that would help cater for couples experiencing infertility.

    Osibogun made this call recently in an interview with journalists at the visit of Lion Club International, District 9110 to the first babies of the year at LUTH and Isolo General Hospital, Lagos.

    According to him, the need to provide adequate treatment for infertility, as well as disorders affecting reproductive health in women from puberty through menopause is imperative.

    He said “we are set to provide efficient quality service to family having challenge with babies by deploring new technology that would help cater for their needs. We have the infrastructure and space on ground and other equipments to kick start the initiative.”

    Osibogun, who applauded the humanitarian gesture of the club, noted that the support would help in supporting the families of the babies and bring hope and joy to the child.

  • LUTH to re-introduce IVF clinic

    LUTH to re-introduce IVF clinic

    The Lagos University Teaching Hospital would reintroduce its In-Vitro Fertilisation Clinic in 2013 to assist women seeking conception.

    The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Prof. Akin Osibogun told the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos on Thursday that the clinic would deliver quality health care services to citizens, especially in the area of reproductive health.

    It would also focus on difficulties in conception experienced by some women.

    In-Vitro Fertilisation is the process of fertilising an egg with sperm in a laboratory dish and transferring the embryo into a woman.

    “We are restarting our In-Vitro Fertilisation programme. Part of the equipment is already on ground and the infrastructure is already on ground. “We’ve completed the place, and we will restart work and providing that service shortly in this New Year. “Prof. Osibogun told NAN.

     

  • ‘Lung infections to increase’

    ‘Lung infections to increase’

    No fewer than 25 per cent of admissions in teaching hospitals stem from respiratory tract infection (RTI), Consultant Chest Physician, at the Department of Medicine, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Dr Cyril Chukwu, has said.

    According to him, the disease is common because of the polluted air that people inhale.

    He said the air being taken in is loaded with micro-organisms which float in the atmosphere. “This air we breathe in is impure and often referred to in medical language as unsterile,” he added.

    Chukwu said those microorganisms get trapped once in a while in the lungs and cause diseases.

    “But it is not easy and straightforward as we said it because the human body has a mechanism which defends it against external attacks such as microorganisms. So, a healthy person will not get RTI often because the body’s defense is able to clear the microorganisms,” he added.

    On vulnerability, he said, the elderly and the young are more at risk. “In the extremes of age, a very young person or an elderly person usually doesn’t have the natural defence against the disease. This is because the defence of the young has not developed properly while that of the elderly has started waning.

    Preventing it, he said, is always difficult because a lot depends on controlling the environment to allow for clean and fresh air. “It is for the Federal Government and the people to ensure that they provide a clean environment which will minimise the disease.

    “The government should ensure that buildings are built to specifications and should not cluster to make room for ventilation. They should have wide windows and trees can be planted to further provide clean oxygen, he added.

    On high fences in Lagos, he said, it is caused by security challenges, adding that houses should not be surrounded by walls, otherwise the disease will find a breeding ground.

    He urged Nigeria to adopt the Singapore experience by having a good ecology system and well-planned residence devoid of fence. Then the chances of people coming down with chest infections are very slim, he added.

    He identified industralisation as another cause of pollution. “When a country has industries it is usually very difficult to achieve 100 per cent clean air as there would be many cars and machinery emitting fumes into the atmosphere. What can be done is for the government to regulate where people site the industries. Ideally, industries are sited in industrial estates away from residential areas to minimise pollution. But today a lot of such industrial estates are now within residential areas due to development,” he added.

    On the treatment, Chukwu said the country has the expertise to treat the disease, but stressed that some countries may have better capacity comparably to perform the same task.

    RTI, he said, doesn’t lead to other diseases but may lead to some complications, adding that a disease such as cancer may first present as lung infection. “In this situation, the disease is more difficult to treat as misdiagnosis may allow the disease to recur. This is what make doctors suspect that it is not a straightforward pneumonia,” he added.

    Diagnosing the infection, he said, is more difficult in the elderly because the symptoms are not identical with the usual type found in younger people.

  • How to manage asthma

    HOW can asthma attack be prevented? A major way to prevent an attack is by reducing exposure to asthma triggers, says a respiratory physician, Dr Kayode Adelakun of Respiratory Unit, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) .

    Asthma triggers can aggravate asthma symptoms such as coughing, difficulty in breathing, tightness in the chest and wheezing, he added.

    Asthma triggers are pungent odours, fuel fumes and a stuffy room, among others.

    Adelakin said asthma attacks have killed many people but asthmatic patients can stop this if they are sensitive to asthma triggers.

    Adelakun said though there is no cure for the condition, there are steps one could take to keep it under control and prevent an attack or worsening of its symptoms.

    “Identifying asthma triggers such as air pollution, cold air, smoke and allergies (sneezing, runny nose, cough, nasal congestion, sore throat, and headache), would help to prevent the triggers,” he added.

    He said asthma attacks are stressful for everyone, including those around around the victim. “Staying calm, relaxed and avoiding anxiety and using relevant relief methods are the best thing to do during the attack.

    “Asthmatic patients and those around them should always be ready for the attack, so that it does not meet you unprepared. It is important to know your asthma symptoms and what triggers your attack.

    “Avoiding your triggers is the best way to avoid an asthma attack. Some triggers, like catching a cold, cannot be avoided while others, like being near tobacco smoke can be avoided. Taking a daily asthma controller medicine, if prescribed, helps prevent asthma attacks by keeping swelling under control inside your airways,” Adelakin said.

    Asthma attack, he said, is a sudden worsening of asthma symptoms caused by the tightening of muscles around the airways. “During the asthma attack, the lining of the airways also becomes swollen or inflamed and thicker mucus, more than normal is produced,” he added.

    Adelakun identified severe wheezing when breathing both in and out, coughing that won’t stop, very rapid breathing, chest pain or pressure as other symptoms of asthma attack.

    Others are tightened neck and chest muscles called retractions, difficulty in talking, feelings of anxiety or panic, paleness and sweaty face.

    He noted that these asthma attack symptoms are not severe enough to stop people from going about their daily activities but recognizing these signs can help stop an attack or prevent it from getting worse. The severity of an asthma attack can escalate rapidly, so it’s important to treat these symptoms once you recognize them, he added.

    Asthma can also be caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors such as exposure to air pollutants, low air quality, exposure to dust, exhaust and smoke, Adelakun said.

  • LUTH doctors suspend strike

    LUTH doctors suspend strike

    Doctors at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, on Friday suspended the three day-warning strike embarked upon to seek a review of their taxes.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the doctors, under the aegis of Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), had on Tuesday embarked on the strike.

    NAN checks at the hospital showed that essential medical services had resumed at the hospital following the suspension of the doctors’ action.

    The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Prof. Akin Osibogun, confirmed that the doctors had suspended the strike.

    Osibogun told NAN that the management was already holding discussions with the resident doctors.

    “The hospital management with the Lagos State Tax Authority had started holding meetings with the doctors so they can get the necessary clarification on what the tax law says.

    “Tax is a question of law, law passed by the National Assembly; as law abiding citizens, we should comply with what the law says and implement it,” he said.

    An executive of the association, who pleaded anonymity, said that the executives had held meetings with the management on the need to stop the deductions.

     

  • Walking good for your health, says LUTH CMD

    Does walking have any health benefit? Yes it does, says the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Prof Akin Osibogun.

    According to him, a brisk walk is a preventive measure against diseases and infection.

    Osibogun said walking could boost one’s immunity and help the system resist some infections.

    The CMD, who spoke at a walk organised by the hospital as part of activities to mark its 50th anniversary, said the event was to draw the public’s attention to the need for regular exercise.

    Exercise, he said, has several benefits, such as heart and mental health. “It is good for the heart and it also helps people to improve on their cardiovascular fitness. Exercise also helps to prevent or minimise the effect of diabetes on those who are diabetic,” Osibgun added.

    He further said: “We could have remained in the hospital and exercise, which will be good for the staff but we wanted the public to know that we also promote exercise. So, we encourage them to also do it. That was why we took to the streets to raise awareness on the need for people to exercise.”

    Osibogun recommended moderate daily exercise for Nigerians, especially adults, adding: “Even if it is brisk walking for at least 30 minutes. It will help to promote the health of the people.”

    On what to expect from the hospital, the CMD said: “The best is yet to come. In the next one year we will start these programmes to the benefit of the people. Many Nigerians will have access to specialised treatment that they need.”

    Osibogun said the hospital is embarking on programmes that will touch the lives of people. We are starting open heart surgery and setting up DNA laboratory.

    He said there was need for additional teaching hospitals in Lagos. It doesn’t have to be established by government, it can be public or private, he added.

    Looking back, he said, LUTH was the flagship of teaching hospitals in the country because it was established by the Act of Parliament in 1962, to provide leadership. The hospital has produced a large number of doctors at undergraduate and post-graduate levels, and over 4,000 nurses were also produced. The first in-Vitro Fertilised baby in the country was produced at LUTH.

    “It is the leading centre for physiotherapy and radiotherapy/ oncology in the country. It is also the centre for the West African Post-Graduate College of Medicine. So every specialist or doctor in the country would have one way or the other passed through the hospital.”

    The hospital, Osibogun said, carried out free cataract surgery on some patients and another 50 partially subsidised surgeries were carried out on different kinds of illness affecting the patients to mark its 50th anniversary.